


Verdant Wind: Dawn of Unification

by LeilaD



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:46:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 26
Words: 54,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26607709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeilaD/pseuds/LeilaD
Summary: I suppose one could say that this is the Persona 4: The Golden of Fire Emblem: Three Houses: I am leaving out any and all dialogue that actually occurs in the game, and all of the scenes take place between the battles and cut-scenes of my most recent Three Houses play through. It started because I would imagine having conversations with Claude while I was walking home from work, usually about the next chapter I was going to play. Also, I just wanted to elaborate more on Claude and Byleth's relationship, and explore some politics behind the scenes.
Relationships: Caspar von Bergliez/Linhardt von Hevring, Dorothea Arnault/Edelgard von Hresvelg, Lorenz Hellman Gloucester/Lysithea von Ordelia, My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

Claude considered following Teach when she left with the other professors for their strategy meeting, just to eavesdrop and see what they were cooking up, but he decided not to. He was afraid of seeming too needy. Besides, he completely had other things to do than squat by a wall and wait for someone else's meeting to be over.

Even if eavesdropping had occasionally saved his life.

He was a little surprised when she appeared at his door forty-five minutes later. Instinctively, he tried to shove his various herbs under something to hide them, but that just scattered them and stained some of his papers. He grimaced, ran his hand through his hair, and tried to play it cool.

"Heya, Teach, what's up?" he asked and noticed his voice still sounded sheepish.

"Come and take a walk with me," she ordered.

"Uh, yeah, sure," he said and scrambled for his cloak and a more wet-resistant pair of shoes. Rotten weather, these Fodlan winters. Silently they walked downstairs and towards the entrance hall. He wondered if he was actually in trouble for the whole "slip something in the food" thing from earlier. To his surprise, she led him out through the gate, through the marketplace, and down the switchback trail away from the monastery.

"So, uh, welcome dessert with the girls?" he asked.

"You said you didn't know anything about Marianne except the name of her father," she answered. "She seems rather insecure, so I wanted her to get used to my presence without me grilling her, and she seems to rely on Hilda."

"Or, rather, Hilda is going to insist on being friends with all of the girls, whether they want to be or not," Claude said sardonically. Teach nodded her assent and led him off the trail.

"Hey, Teach, where are we going, anyway? I hope you aren't planning to kill me and dump my corpse in the woods." Claude tried to make it sound like a joke, but he wasn't 100% sure he succeeded. She didn't answer, but led him further off the road along what seemed to be a deer trail. As they broke into a clearing, she stopped. He stopped a pace or two after she did and stepped hurriedly back to her side.

"This is where the mock battle is going to be held," she told him. "Since your grandfather chose to send you here, I assume he intends for you to learn to lead from the front. Granted, when you lead the Leicester Alliance, you will have scouts to report back to you and it is a very rare chance that an attacking army gets to choose the battlefield. Black Eagles are holding that copse of trees. Blue Lions are holed up in those shrine ruins over there. We are the attacking army coming from this path. Report."

Claude blinked, then snapped to attention. "We're at a disadvantage because we're attacking uphill. It would tire us out too quickly. The temple is pretty open, but the Eagles can build bushtraps and roll logs into that copse to slow us down and pick us off one by one."

"I wasn't sure you'd seen that," Teach said with approval. "Go on."

"So, umm, we're supposed to be attacking, but the Eagles would just pick us off. Maybe if we sweep up the east and attack the copse from behind?"

"Good. Anything else?"

"Umm, Dimitri can be a little rash. Maybe we can use that?"

Teach gave a brief nod. "Each army will be matched- the professor, the house leader, and three others. Who of your classmates will you pick?"

"Marianne," he said immediately. "We might want a healer. Umm. You seem to be a focused swordswoman, so you're a front-line sort of fighter, while I shoot over your head."

She nodded. They had established that when they fought the bandits two weeks ago.

"So I want another heavy-hitter so that you're not alone out there in the front- Raphael's a big, strong guy- and maybe someone else in back with me. Lysithea? Her magic is strong and she's more accurate than Ignatz right now. The kid tries hard, but his spirit isn't really in it, poor guy."

"Now what does your line-up tell you about your tactics?" she probed. Claude froze, out of ideas.

"I suggest we use the trees to the east in the same manner as the Eagles," she said. "Raphael and I can stand just inside their range to lure them in, the trees will make it harder for them to aim, and that way you and Lysithea can pick them off while Marianne keeps Raphael and I on our feet. Do you have any insight on your enemies?"

"Dimitri, Professor Hanneman, and he'll choose that big retainer of his, Dedue," Claude answered promptly. "If he also picks a healer, he'll have Mercedes. The last one is his wild card, but they have lots of heavies, too- Sylvain, Ingrid, and Felix."

"The swordsman," Teach said with recognition. Claude found himself choking back on some jealousy.

_Hey, she picked us..._

"The Eagles?" she prompted.

"Professor Manuela for healer, Edelgard will hold back and let her classmates soften us up, and that vampire of hers is another mage. I really don't know which of the others she'll pick, but again she has heavies to choose from- Ferdinand, Petra, Caspar. Bernadetta is a mouse, so probably not her. Linhardt and Dorothea would be redundant with Professor Manuela and Hubert."

"Good. You're thinking. Let's go back," Teach said and they started off through the deer path back up towards the monastery. When they were within sight of the walls again, she put out a hand and stopped him.

"Claude, about your scheme- yes."

"What?" he asked, unable to believe his ears.

"I said no because you are a student facing other students in a practice bout. If you were a commander and you could get a talented poisoner anywhere near their supply train or field kitchens- do it. Just make sure that you then wipe them out or you're inviting retribution. And when the bottle tops come off- it isn't pretty."

She turned and strode quickly off up the path, the hem of her black coat swinging out behind her, leaving Claude to stare after her with his jaw gaping.

* * *

"Heya, Teach!" he called out the next morning as he came through the door of the training yard. Marianne and Ignatz were already there, Marianne sitting quietly on a barrel of sand in a corner and Ignatz standing at strict attention. Teach herself sat on the ground, surrounded by a pile of weaponry. "What's goin' on?"

"I was told which weapons locker belonged to Golden Deer," she answered. "I was inventorying. We... don't have a lot here. I wouldn't be able to equip all of you if this were a real battle."

Claude looked at the weaponry and winced at a poor assortment of training weapons and iron weapons that needed scoured in sand and sharpened.

Behind him, Lysithea came through the door with Raphael and Leonie. Raphael sat down on the ground across from Teach as if it were storytime and Leonie walked over to examine the pile of bows. Lysithea looked around and located a wooden bench, which she sat on in a prim, proper noblewoman's pose.

"Good morning, Professor!" Lorenz sang out as he sailed into the training yard. "I consider it a noble's duty to lead by example and arrive early so that-" he cut himself off, actually a little abashed to find he was one of the last of his classmates to arrive. He sat next to Lysithea, who scooted to the far side of the bench away from him.

Teach cast a stern eye over the group. "Ignatz," she said with a grim look in her eye. "Go and fetch Hilda at once."

"M-me?" he stammered, then gulped as she turned that eye on him. He ran out the door. Her bleak expression held them all silent and breathless. Leonie went to sit next to Raphael. Teach slowly gathered the iron weapons and put them away, leaving the training weapons neatly stacked in piles. They all waited anxiously for Ignatz to return with Hilda.

"Gee, Professor, I am so, so sorry!" she called out as they entered. "First I was on duty and then I got caught up with Professor Manuela, and then one of my friends wanted to borrow my notes on the Charon formation-"

"I am hearing a lot of excuses," Teach said, her voice carrying all the ice of Fodlan's Locket during a blizzard. "Sit. Down."

Hilda's eyes widened and she dropped where she stood.

"This is a military institution, not a debating society. You are all here to learn discipline and how to stay alive. If you are late bringing reinforcements when the Almyrans are invading, or late patrolling the roads of your lord's lands, then all the excuses in the world won't bring those soldiers and merchants back to life. You have a duty to others now. You can't afford to be children."

Raphael looked sober, Ignatz hung his head, and even Hilda, still wide-eyed, looked chastened.

"Everything I tell you to do has a purpose. That purpose is to keep you and those under your command from lying in the dirt screaming with a spear in your belly. In the classroom, in the training yard, on the parade ground, I am your goddess and you will transfer the level of devotion and obedience that I instill in you to your lords and commanders when you graduate here and enter the world as adults."

The shock was palpable. _Pretty ballsy, Teach..._

"Now then. On your feet and run. I want you to do laps around this courtyard until I tell you to stop."

They exchanged startled looks, climbed to their feet and started to jog. Claude's muscles pulled at first, and then slowly loosened and he lengthened his stride.

"Outrageous! Absurd! She can't-" Lorenz was sputtering.

"If you have the breath to talk, you have breath to run," Teach called. Most of them picked up their pace. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hilda dragging her feet when she thought Teach wasn't looking.

"Goneril. Five more laps to your total." Teach commanded. "Don't let me catch you cheating again."

A minute or two later, she called, "Marianne, Ignatz, Lysithea, you're done. Walk it off and stretch."

Claude spared a look. They were red-faced and gasping. Ahead of him, Raphael was counting laps out loud, using the bench as his marker.

"...19...20..."

"Raphael, you're done. Walk it off and stretch."

 _No fair,_ Claude thought, gasping. Raphael looked a lot fresher than Claude felt right now.

"Claude, Leonie, you're done. Walk it off, stretch."

Relieved, Claude dropped to a walk with a groan. Lorenz passed him with a glare, but a few moments later, Teach called Lorenz's finish.

Only Hilda was left running.

"Oh, come on, Professor!" she whined.

Teach folded her arms, impassive.

"You can do it, Hilda!" Ignatz called.

"Yeah!" Claude gasped, pulling his arms over his head to keep the stitch out of his side.

"You got this!" Raphael called.

Hilda stumbled on for two more laps.

"Done. Walk it off and stretch." Teach said. Spontaneously- Claude didn't know who started it- they broke into cheers, whistles, and applause. Even Lorenz was clapping.

When Hilda collapsed back on the step, Teach said,

"Training grounds every morning, lunch, classroom lectures in the afternoon. Do not be late. Water break, then I want to see Claude, Raphael, Marianne, and Lysithea. The rest of you, dismissed for the day."

There was a stampede for the bucket. Even Lorenz didn't complain about the warmth, taste, or sharing a drinking gourd with who knew who else. After greedily gulping water down, Marianne and Lysithea approached Teach with some trepidation as Raphael rolled his shoulders to loosen the muscles. Claude, curious, took up his stance where Leonie had earlier by the training bows. Teach waited until the rest of the class noisily left, then said,

"As you know, tomorrow is the mock battle. The four of you and myself will be representing the Golden Deer. The rules are simple- each training weapon we use will be coated in yellow chalk so that Seteth can judge the strength and accuracy of our attacks. When he calls someone out, they're 'dead' and can't participate any further." She picked up a sword. "Care for these practice weapons as if they were your actual arms and armor. Lysithea, Marianne, I want you to also take swords and Marianne take that lance there. Claude, grab a bow and an axe in case you get pressed. Raphael, axe and gauntlets." She then proceeded to sketch in their loose tactics as she and Clause had discussed the day before. They all nodded solemnly.

"Hey, Professor? Why did you have everybody leave before we talked about it?" Raphael asked, puzzled. "Shouldn't everyone else have heard, like tactics training or something?"

Teach looked him in the eye, and to Claude's surprise, quoted an old Almyran proverb Nader had cracked into his skull from a very young age: "Loose lips sink ships."

* * *

The next day, Claude and the others marched up the now-wider dirt deer track that Teach had shown him two days before. From the sidelines near Seteth and the other observers, he could hear Hilda chanting "Go, Golden Deer!" as they emerged from the bushes. Quickly looking around the field, he saw he had made some wrong guesses in his planning.

_Dorothea? Isn't another mage redundant? And an archer? Ashe, isn't it? Didn't think that was Dimitri's style..._

He didn't have time to talk to Teach and reassess their strategy. Teach called,

"Golden Deer, advance!"

And the rest was chaos...


	2. Chapter 2

Claude tried to be a good officer cadet and analyze the battle later. Their opening gambit more or less worked according to plan. Edelgard had built a temporary wooden barricade in the trees to try and funnel their attack, but Ferdinand had charged them (apparently disregarding his princess's orders), forcing Hubert to follow him to back him up. Dealing with the two of them had required pulling out of their formation (and using Marianne's heal spells) before they could swing northeast as planned to confront the charge of the Blue Lions.

Then things were happening too fast. Claude's taunt worked well-enough to distract Dimitri that Seteth called the kill. Edelgard came out from behind her defenses, to Claude's surprise, catching them in the open. She took out Lysithea with a thrown axe, who was immediately avenged by Marianne of all people. Dorothea's lethal-looking lightning felled Raphael.

"I-I can't," Marianne gasped. "I don't have any left." She was looking fairly fatigued.

_No one left between me and Professor Hanneman. I can probably get two arrows in him before his magic gets me..._

It's the second Saggitae spell that gets you. Claude realized he had left himself open just as a cool breeze washed over him. Seteth shouted "von Riegan, out!".

Hanneman took a swig of water, simulating a vulnerary as Teach crouched toward him like a hunting cat. He didn't realize they had flanked him until Marianne sprang forward with her iron lance held out. Hanneman swung to face her and Teach put her blade to his throat.

"And the winners are- the Golden Deer House!" Seteth declared. "The student who most efficiently used her resources was Marianne von Edmund."

Wild cheers broke out, just as Claude realized that out of a field of fifteen, only Teach and Marianne were left standing.

* * *

The following day, Claude tried to catch up with Teach, but it always seemed like she was busy: greenhouse, choir practice (with Ignatz and Lorenz of all people!), fishing...

_One of those people who always has to have a project, eh Teach? Well, I'll just catch you at lunch..._

Therefore Claude was dismayed when he collected his bowl of Daphnel stew (one of his faves, even!) and turned around to see Teach already half done with her stew and using her hands to illustrate some point to Leonie and that Felix kid she was so interested in last week. They watched with fascination, Felix forgetting to be cool.

"Hey, Claude!" Raphael called from nearby. "I gotta seat open if you wanna come over here!"

Claude smiled big and sat beside his large classmate. They chatted amicably for a while, Raphael thanking him for carrying the books earlier. Finally, he saw Teach get up and leave, heading for the entrance hall.

"I gotta go," Claude said, jumping up. "I wanted to talk to Teach."

"What about your stew?" Raphael asked.

"You can finish it!" Claude called over his shoulder.

"Sweet! Thanks!"

* * *

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ He chided himself as he sank down on the steps of the Entrance Hall. _Well, she didn't seem to mind, and she thinks you were just making small talk. You're more upset than she is, even. What is your big deal? You were trying to find out more about her, and you did. Yeah, genius, how do you know she's not upset. You know plenty of people who are good at masking their emotions, it's one of the things you pride yourself on. What do you care, anyway? This goes way beyond just trying to cultivate a powerful ally..._

"I better not catch you getting a crush on your teacher, stupid," he muttered at himself out loud and climbed to his feet to go find something useful to do.

* * *

"I feel like you're not getting adequate experience running the same drills consistently with the same classmates or sitting through lectures. Therefore, I've asked some of the knights to run a simulation with us tomorrow afternoon." Teach announced one Saturday afternoon just before the bell.

"Our free day?" Hilda asked in horror. Teach turned and looked at her with that flat gaze.

"Don't worry, Hilda," Ignatz comforted her as she quailed. "You'll have all morning and the evening when we get back."

There were a couple more grumbles, but the rest of them had the sense to keep it low as they filed out at the sound of the bell. Claude felt sour, too. This was just the sort of thing Nader used to pull on him, too.

"If she had a baby with my old weaponsmaster, that baby would have red skin, fangs, and horns," he muttered to Hilda, who giggled.

The next afternoon, the whole class assembled in a different meadow on the mountain below Garreg Mach. To Claude's surprise, Teach's dad Jeralt was the judge of this one, and they were slightly outnumbered by the Seiros Knights- not by a lot, but enough to give him pause.

"Let's try to actually use the trees this time to slow them down and mess with their accuracy," Claude muttered to Teach, who nodded and set them into an attack formation.

"Golden Deer, advance!"

The trees slowed and threw off their aim as badly as their opponents. Many of them were quickly becoming frustrated, and the Deer pushed through the trees and into the open meadow beyond, before heading north towards the main body of the Knights. Meanwhile, a smaller group had gone north first around the trees and now pushed east to meet them.

Claude was getting very tired and some of the bruises from the practice weapons actually hurt. He glanced up and with a sense of deja vu realized he was wide open and the pikeman was coming for his-

-And then Teach was there in a flurry of motion, and the Knight fell back into a tree, gasping from the blow to his chest.

"Done- winner Golden Deer!" Jeralt announced and they broke into a tumult of jubilation.

"Oh, well done, Professor!" Lorenz called, his voice carrying over the celebration. Claude rolled his eyes.

"Well done to all of you," Teach said, her voice cutting effortlessly through the din. They all quieted as the Knights gathered their gear and left. "I especially want to note the teamwork between Ignatz and Marianne to the northwest. Superb job holding the line, Ignatz. Raphael, Lysithea, well done backing them up."

_Ignatz was holding the line? Well, well, so the kid's got it in him. I expected him to be more of a support kinda guy..._

"There were no 'fatalities' this time on our side- in just a couple of weeks, you're learning to cover each other and when to use your resources- Marianne's healing magic, your 'vulneraries'. BUT. I don't want you getting cocky. When the Knights return from scouting and Lady Rhea gives us the order to march, it won't be yellow and white chalk- we intend to kill these bandits to the last man, and if you charge in recklessly... you won't be coming home. Dismissed."

Sobered, they turned to go back to the monastery. Claude heard snippets of his classmates' conversations: "-been real steel, she would have chopped him in half!" "-can't believe they're risking the lives of students like this", "-not going to write my sister about this until we're all safely back- I don't need her worrying about me".

"-was getting as frustrated as the students if not more," Teach was saying behind him. Claude slowed down just a smidgen to hear better.

"Well, kiddo, that was definitely better than that mock battle. I heard about it later. Flashy, showy, made a good impression on the church and nobles, but you lost three-fifths of your forces? Can't be doing that against bandits." Jeralt chided her. "And today you almost lost the von Riegan brat."

"I know, Dad!" She snapped. "I know. They're kids, they're amateurs, they don't know what they're doing, and that noblewoman wants me to put live steel in their hands after a month of training and somehow keep them alive!"

"That's the most I've ever heard you get worked up about anything," Jeralt said, sounding surprised and echoing Claude's thought.

"They're good kids! I don't want any of them to die because I'm not good enough."

She walked faster to outpace him and Claude had to step off the path to give her room as she blasted by.

* * *

It was late- or rather, very early- and Claude leaned on the wall beside a balustrade in the eastern side of the Goddess Tower. Students were forbidden to enter, but no one would know- at this time of the morning no one would catch him and it was his favorite place he'd found yet in the monastery: high enough to give him a good view of all of the grounds and be high enough above the torches, candles, and lamps to give him a good view of the stars. One of the lights below him caught his attention this morning, however and pulled him away from his contemplation of the heavens.

_Who would be in the classroom at this time of night?_

Claude snuck down the stairs and silently made his way through the cathedral, then slipped through the courtyard. He tiptoed up to the door and peeked through. Seeing the blue hair bent so far over that it was brushing the table, a mischievous urge overcame him and he stepped boldly through the door, calling out,

"Heya, Teach!"

She raised her head, her weight resting on the knuckles of both her hands on the desk. She looked exhausted, red circles rimming her eyes and dark circles beneath. Instead of the black lace tights, midriff-baring shirt, booty shorts, and embroidered black coat she normally wore in battle, she wore a dark-blue dress that was popular with dancing girls. It bagged down in front when she leaned forward.

As she was doing now.

Goddess above, she was beautiful.

"Hello, Claude," she answered.

"What'cha working on this time of night?" he asked, walking between the row of tables and stopping in front of the desk that dominated the front of the room. He looked down and felt himself blanch. She had a topography map of the meadow spread out, with fifteen brass tokens. Three red wax 'x's' marked the spots where he, Raphael, and Lysithea had 'died'.

"Running some battle simulations," she replied, her voice as thick with fatigue as her eyes looked. He glanced at her candle and winced again at how far down it had run. She had been clearly doing this since at least sundown, if not before.

"Hey, come and take a walk with me," he said, suddenly worried about her. "Get some exercise, clear your head- you'll concentrate better for it."

She blinked at him suspiciously, then glanced through the open door at the pitch-black courtyard beyond. "You're out past curfew," she accused, trying to sound stern and professorly about it.

"And I bet Seteth has assigned curfew to the Professors as well," Claude smirked. "We'll both be in trouble, gossip about us will spread, they'll run us out of town on a splintery rail, my grandfather will send me back to my father in disgrace- if we get caught. I don't intend to get caught- do you?"

She stared at him for a long moment, and then, to his surprise and delight, the very corner of her mouth curled upward. "You, sir, are a very bad man," she said.

"I know," he answered unrepentantly. "Does that mean you're coming with me, or am I courting expulsion and dishonor alone?"

"It appears you already have been," she replied and walked around her desk to fall into step with him. They cut through the dark dining hall, but in the kitchen beyond the bakers were already hard at work shaping the loaves to feed the foundation of the Church of Seiros, her knights, and three houses worth of hungry teenaged, active students. Claude's stomach growled.

Once they had slipped down the steps, they paced along the shore of the fishing pond to almost within sight of the gate guard and then turned back. "Bandits?" he prompted, remembering their last walk when they had discussed strategy before the mock battle.

"Fairly routine for me, but this will be the first battle many of your classmates will have seen with live steel. I saw during our first encounter that you can keep your head in combat- likely that wasn't even your first time killing men- but it may be a rude awakening for some of the others. They may panic or freeze, which is dangerous. In fact, "just bandits" is the most dangerous battle they will ever be in.:

Claude slowly nodded, remembering the first time he had fought 'just bandits', how his father had made him watch as men he had wounded died, how he had to prove he wasn't a half-foreign coward...

"The scouts among the Knights have reported that these bandits are indeed led by the same bandit leader who attacked us the morning we met." She shook her head slightly. "I can't believe the Knights let them get away. He's had two months to recruit and grab a couple of easy victories to embolden his greenhorns."

"So we at least know that he's an axe fighter and something of his tactics," Claude said, shaking off his memories.

"He has apparently taken up residence at a place called Zanado, nicknamed the 'Red Canyon'," she told him. "I had never heard of it, and I don't know the area at all. Are you familiar with it?"

He shook his head. "From what I've read, it's considered holy by the church. It's not the sort of place anyone just goes," he said. "I doubt any of us has been there or knows the surrounding lands at all."

She swore softly under her breath. "That's one advantage they'll have over us- knowledge of the terrain. We won't know if anyone sneaks past us, either."

"Teach... maybe you should get some rest," he suggested hesitantly. "I mean, you need to be at your best, too. Staying up all night reviewing past battles means that when the mission comes you'll be fatigued, not thinking clearly, making mistakes..."

She stopped and turned that impassive gaze on him. He swallowed, then lifted his chin to match her stare for stare.

"You students are my responsibility," she said. "I can't afford for any of you to suffer for my mistakes."

"It's not just 'your mistakes'. Sure, you try to read the field, you deploy us the best you can, but the ones who are actually trading blows with the enemy are us, and we're responsible for us, too." Claude wasn't sure if what he had just said actually made any sense or not.

After an uneasy moment of silence, she said, "Especially you, von Riegan. You're cocky, you're reckless, you take too many risks... leading from the front is very noble, but it also makes you a huge freaking target. As you've proven in both practice skirmishes now."

She turned and left. Numbly, he walked out to the end of the fishing pier and sank down. A splash accompanied him and he realized he had let his feet drop into the water. He pulled his stiff boots off, then his socks as an afterthought, and let his feet dangle in the icy Harpstring Moon pond.

_So much for summer coming..._

He had been told he was cocky since he was a little kid. To hear it now out of Teach's mouth hurt a little. After all, it wasn't like he was actually like that. He just did it when he actually managed to succeed at something. For once.

As for reckless, it wasn't his fault. He wasn't trying to 'lead from the front'. He certainly wasn't trying to be noble. That sort of garbage was for Lorenz. He kicked his feet, scattering the fish who came to the dock to see if he had any food. Reckless. The very word was insulting. He prided himself on careful planning and subtle execution. As he feet went numb, he found his mind drifting over her map and those red wax 'x's'. He slowed his mind and went back to the exact moment. Lysithea and Raphael were down. Marianne and Teach wiped out the last of the Black Eagles. There was only one opponent left and an empty field between them. Claude had rushed across the field at that lone opponent.

 _They would catch up in a second,_ he had thought at the time. _In the meantime, he'd put a couple of arrows in the old man, slow him down, and then Teach would be there..._

He stopped, eyes wide. He pulled his feet out of the water and sat cross-legged, warming them beneath his knees. He had assumed- just assumed- that someone else would be there to make it right! How stupid had he gotten?

And the second time! The second time he had chosen between swallowing a 'vulnerary' and attacking. He had attacked because his classmates were all in striking range, and surely between all of them, the Knights would be goners. He groaned out loud.

 _Ugh, pretty princess!_ He scolded himself. _Since when did you take it into your head that anyone was going to take care of you besides you yourself? She's right. You're getting cocky and reckless. You know better than to trust anyone besides yourself with your life. Fight like it's just you against the whole army and you have only one life to preserve.  
I wonder if she's ever been to Almyra..._

* * *

Once again, Teach had a huge pile of weapons on the floor of the training ground. As the class filed in, they exclaimed and murmured to themselves and each other. Instead of the worn, serviceable iron sword the mercenary had always carried on her person before, a good-quality steel blade rode that slender hip. It shone from fine care and somehow didn't seem at all incongruous with the dark blue dress she had taken to wearing inside the monastery.

The weapons on the floor of the training ground were all of iron or good quality steel. Claude's fingers positively itched to hold the teakwood bow with steel fittings.

"This does not mean you can neglect your training weapons," Teach said sternly. "We will still be drilling with them for the remainder of the year. However, if we are going into combat against bandits, you need good quality, well-balanced weapons. These are yours now; I expect you to take care of them. Line up and make your choices."

Solemnly, they obeyed. Claude loved the feel of the grip and found himself grinning like a loon. A glance at Leonie and Ignatz showed them similarly enthralled by the new bows.

"I want all of you to pull on padded armor and go through your regular drills at three-fourth's speed," she ordered. "We are not trying to kill each other- just get a feel for your new weapons. Hilda, so kind of you to join us. Your weapons are there. Hurry it up."

Claude glanced at the center of the training yard. There lay an iron lance and an iron axe, the poor rejects no one else had wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Claude/Teach C  
> Claude/Raphael C


	3. Chapter 3

Fodlan did not favor armor, as it turned out, other than thick, heavy plate used by specific units of troops who specialized in it. Claude briefly wished he had at least a breast plate for protection, but as they trudged up the path through the canyon, he decided on second thought that their school uniforms were hot and heavy enough.

It occurred to him that such a wide, straight path could not be of natural origin. He looked up and around. Several of the piles of rock had smooth, straight edges, like building stone. And there- holes high in the cliffside looked rather suspiciously like doors and windows.

 _Zanado is the ruins of an ancient city!_ he realized. _How old, I wonder? Also, absolutely nothing here is red. I expected sandstone, if nothing else. Granite? Limestone? Argh, I'm bad at guessing._

Teach was looking around, too, but her emphasis was on the here and now, he realized. She was watching those windows and doors for signs of bowmen or magical snipers.

She held up a hand for them to stop and slipped ahead. She was back a few minutes later.

"They seem to be gathered around some ruins at the base of the valley," she reported in a low voice. Everyone strained forward to hear. Across the huddle from him, Claude noticed that Felix kid and shook his head in disgust. Why had he tagged along?

"There is a staircase up onto a plateau that we have to take. We'll then split our forces and catch them in a pincer formation on our way down. Be careful- we can use the staircases to our advantage, but our enemies may be smart enough to catch us in the bottleneck as well."

She glanced around as everyone nodded with determination. "Very well then. Everyone in formation."

They scrambled to take their places. Teach looked around to see that everyone was where she wanted them, then flung back her black coat and drew her sword.

"Golden Deer- advance!"

* * *

Ignatz was unable to walk. With the ease of long practice, Teach rigged up a stretcher for him and assigned turns for carrying him back. The slash in his left leg looked pretty bad to Claude, but Teach had barely glanced at it and declared that with some infirmary rest he would be fine. Raphael kept insisting that he was good and could keep going, taking the most turns for carrying the head of the stretcher. Regardless, Claude was relieved when they finally met up with the patrol of Knights who were to be their backup and could rig the stretcher between two horses to carry him back.

Claude fell into step beside Teach. "Hey. Most dangerous battle done. Only one of us injured badly and you say he's gonna be fine. Stop worrying."

Teach gave him that death stare of hers. He shrugged. "Just sayin', Ms. I'm-gonna-stay-up-all-night-worrying-about-what-I-did-wrong."

"You never did tell me what you were doing up the other night," she accused. "And I know there was nothing I could do to prevent Ignatz's injury. Mostly."

He grinned at the qualifier. "Snooping," he answered. "Nighttime is so quiet and peaceful that a fellow can learn all sorts of interesting things and go all sorts of fascinating places that are guarded during the day."

"Remind me to start locking my door," she muttered and he laughed.

* * *

The next day the school was abuzz. It was the first month that qualifier exams were approved. Everyone- student and faculty alike- had to be registered with the church if they intended to openly carry arms in Fodlan. Claude briefly wondered how Jeralt had managed to work as a mercenary, and then realized that he and Teach were probably registered with one of the other branches, like the Eastern Church.

Claude wandered over to the bulletin board and ran his eyes down the list until he found the Golden Deer. There were only two names there registered for exams- his own and Teach.

In a panic, he ran to the classroom. Teach was sitting in Lorenz's usual spot, and Seteth was at Teach's desk.

"Master von Riegan. So good of you to join us," Seteth said in a dry voice so like Teach's when she had scolded Hilda for being late the other day that Claude just had to grin.

"Take your seat and let's begin," Seteth ordered and passed them the written portion of their exams. After that part was done, Seteth led them to the Knights' Hall, where they were tested by Shamir and Catherine on their bow and sword work. By the end of the day, they were officially classified by the church as a fighter and a myrmidon.

"Who nominated you?" he asked, panting.

"Manuela, I think. I've been attending her seminars on the free day," she answered with a shrug.

"Who nominated me?" he asked, his voice a little wild.

"I did," she admitted calmly.

"Why me?" he asked, then amended it to "why just me?"

"You passed, didn't you?" She shrugged again. "I knew you were ready."

"Why just me? Why not the others?" he asked again.

"They aren't ready yet," she answered quietly. "They're still flailing around wildly with no discipline. None of them have built up any stamina yet."

"And why are you only a myrmidon?" he asked with exasperation.

She looked at him for a long quiet moment, then said, "because I still have a long way to go. Congratulations, Claude."

"Oh, no you don't," he said. "No turning and walking away to end our conversation today, Teach. You and I are going to do down there to the mess hall and we're going to eat, drink, and be merry, no exceptions."

"With some finely-aged swiped cheese?" she asked.

"If that's to your taste. Of course the lady chooses," he winked broadly.

"Oh, no. If you are going to start behaving like that red-headed Lothario from the Blue Lions, I am not a part of this conversation any longer," Teach said, folding her arms across her chest (and quite a respectably sized chest it was, too).

"Teach, you wound me!" he protested. "Is chivalry so dead that a gentleman cannot give a lady the preference without being suspected of nefarious purposes?"

"Fine," she said, and he thought he saw a glint of mischief in her eyes. "The lady prefers bacon-wrapped oysters with tiny tomatoes on skewers with rice and vegetables."

He groaned his food lust. "You give me a tall order, Teach."

"And I'll make it. For the class," she said, the very corner of her mouth lifting in that almost-smile. "In fact, that was my plan anyway."

And despite his injunction, she turned and walked away.

"No fair, Teach!" he called after her. "You, madam, are a very bad woman!"

* * *

After a very intriguing conversation with Marianne, he went to find Teach. He was vexed to find she was in the training yard, sitting on a bench next to Felix. Their sweat-stained practice clothes made it obvious they had been training together before this conversation started.

"Dude, seriously, they allow transfers between houses. Just join our class already," Claude said, trying to mask his annoyance.

"I've been considering it," Felix said, looking up at him with his habitual sneer. Teach gestured towards a second bench nearby. Claude noisily dragged it over, a little pettishly pleased when it scraped shrilly on the stones. He straddled it and leaned forward, his elbows resting on the bench and his chin in his hands.

"So Ashe isn't a blood-son of Lord Lonato," Felix picked up where he had left off. "He was adopted, literally off the streets. Despite that, Ashe is a quiet kid, kind of sensitive. He's not actually cut out for being a knight, but he's got his head stuffed full of bookish nonsense. If you ask him about his adopted father, he's not going to be able to give you very many answers."

"So what can you tell me about this rebellious nobleman?" Teach asked.

"His lands are south of Fraldarius territory, near the border with the Adrestrian Empire. He used to have a good name with the church- pious, loyal, lots of donations, that sort of thing. He was the sort of armored cavalier that people say about him 'he is a good knight'." Felix snorted his disdain. "Then when the king was advancing some of his reforsm to reduce some of the noble privileges, Lord Lonato was one of the ones protesting the cash levy in court. His son went a few steps further and provided funding and soldiers to that group of filthy animals who ambushed and killed the king."

"Felix," Teach said in an icy voice. "I will not have you blaming the entire nation of Duscur for the actions of a few."

"No skin off my back- there aren't enough Duscurians left to make a fuss about," Felix said. He stood up and walked away, ignoring Teach's stare.

"Pleasant guy," Claude said ironically. He stood up and stretched.

"And he's the sort that will never change his mind, no matter what you say. You can't beat the racism out of someone," Teach said.

"Are you sure you want him in our class?" Claude asked incredulously.

"He's... not doing so well under Professor Hanneman. I just feel like I can help him," Tech said. Then she smirked, and her smirk was very like Felix's. "And if he's the only one who can give me a good workout with the sword while I try to help him find his way, so much the better."

Claude resolved to concentrate harder on his swordsmanship.

"Come and take a walk with me?" She invited, standing up.

"Sure thing, Teach," he answered, falling into step beside her. He was coming to love these unofficial monthly strategy meetings they had. As they aimlessly wandered the monastery, indoors and out, he wondered if she was thinking the same thing he was.

She waited until they were in an area where there were no Blue Lions about before she said,

"If his problem with the church was over the handling of Duscur, why would he have waited until now to start what is, at best, a minor annoyance of a rebellion?"

"Bingo," Claude said. "He's so not a threat that they're sending us along to observe like this is a staged training exercise. And why would he wait until the street-urchin son he adopted was here? Unless the kid has been sending him information about the monastery. Pretty cold-blooded of him and if that's the case, the kid is a better actor than I thought."

"And pretty dangerous for the kid," Teach said. "Let's supposed for a moment that I'm Lady Rhea. Some nobleman starts raising an army, marching across Fodlan, hijacking supplies and scavenging in other nobles' territories. I'm going to send him a politely worded note to stop. If he doesn't, my next letter is delivered courtesy of Lady Catherine and signed with Ashe's severed finger. Make it pretty hard for that kid to ever draw a bow again."

"Teach, yikes!" Claude said, trying to sound light-hearted, but this reminded him of the time she had coolly instructed him on the use of poison.

"We have two options here- we turn his sole surviving heir into our hostage, or we order the kid to prove his loyalty by leading the defensive force," Teach said calmly. "Fortunately for Ashe and for Fodlan itself, I'm not Lady Rhea. I'm a monster. She's not."

"Honestly Teach? I can't match your, uh, pragmatism? But I feel like, you know, fingers are for when we're actually under siege. Before that, though, I fell like having him on the battlefield surrounded by a group of armed Knights of Seiros and visible might remind Lonato of what he's still got to lose. Or maybe goad him into trying to 'rescue' Ashe from us? Either way."

"Either way. So we have a man who has either been planning a rebellion for years and sent his adopted son in to scout out our defenses, but has still somehow underestimated our strength despite his craftiness and is attacking us with an eighth of the forces he actually needs to rebel against the church, or we have a rash and impulsive man who has decided that this is the moment to avenge his dead son despite it being so many years later. We're missing a couple of critical bits of this story."

"So we prepare to fight standard Kingdom forces and otherwise let the Knights take care of things for us- with all due alertness in case they need us to back them up," Claude summed it up.

"Or in case he has a larger force than the Knights found and every sword is then needed. We-"

"-can't afford any laxity in either command or discipline, yeah, Teach." he finished.

She gave him the benefit of her stern gaze and then glanced away.

"So, Teach. Since you're her professor, did they give you any insight on what Marianne's crest is?"

"No. I don't know very much about crests. Why?"

"Oh, she and I were talking the other day, and I found out she's adopted. I looked into von Edmund's family and they don't have a particularly strong noble bloodline, let alone an associated crest. I figure, the Marquis probably adopted her to infuse one into the family, but she won't talk about her parents- or anything else for that matter- and her crest doesn't seem to match any of the fifteen or so on record."

"Fifteen?" she asked. "You know more than I do about it."

"Oh, come on, Teach," he scoffed. "Ten Elites, four saints, and the Crest of Flames. Surely you know that much."

Teach shook her head.

"OK, so Marianne's crest doesn't fit into any of those categories. So maybe there are more crests- and more relics- out there than we know about? Did Han-Professor Hanneman ever figure out yours?"

"Not that he's told me," she answered.

"Aren't you the least bit curious?" he asked with exasperation.

"I'll leave that to you," she answered. "Your curiosity leads you to questions I would never even think to ask."

"Great," he muttered. "So I'm going to go to Professor Hanneman and he's going to answer 'I'm in the middle of some delicate research, Claude, now let me be!' while you continue to play it cool. Later, Teach!"

"Later, Claude," she answered. He was smiling as he walked away.

At least they asked the same questions when it came to strategy. But still...  
"Teach, yikes!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Claude->Fighter  
> Teach-> Myrmidon
> 
> Teach/Raphael C  
> Teach/Leonie C  
> Claude/Marianne C  
> Raphael/Hilda C


	4. Chapter 4

Claude regained consciousness in the infirmary. His left arm hurt like fury.

"What happened?" he asked out loud.

"You cocky little idiot!" Teach hissed. "You fainted from blood loss and almost lost that arm! What do I have to do to teach you that you're not invincible?"

"Aw, Teach, I didn't know you cared," he said, his mind frantically searching back. Then he remembered. After the fog had cleared, he had headed northeast. He had taken a shot at a pikeman up there, but fallen into a battalion trap, and then the big guy in armor...

_Yeah, I deserve that. And after she just talked to me about it, too..._

"Of course I care!" she snapped and rose. "Incidentally, when Manuela gives you the okay to leave, you might want to congratulate Raphael and Lysithea on passing their qualification exams."

"Wait, exams are over? Teach, how long have I-"

His only answer was the shutting of the infirmary door.

* * *

"-always seems so mean, but when you actually talk to her, she's really nice." Hilda was saying

"Yes, the Professor is surprisingly kind," Marianne agreed.

"Claude!" Hilda squealed as she saw him. "We were so, so worried about you! Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, until she starts putting me through strength training to build my arm back up," Claude answered. "Any idea what our mission for this month is?"

"I was just coming to discuss that," Teach said behind him. "Apparently, this month is the Rite of Rebirth. A note was found on Lonato's body coordinating an attack on the archbishop 'when she's at her most vulnerable', end quote."

"Wyvern pucky," Claude said flatly. "People don't just carry around secret notes relating to assassination plots."

"Definitely a distraction," Teach agreed.

"Okay, that makes sense. So now that we know that, what do we do?" Hilda asked.

"We split up and look for any sign of anything suspicious or potentially worth going after," Claude said. "Preferably while looking like frolicking, harmless students on our day off doing non-suspicious things."

"I can't exactly pass as that," Teach said dryly. "But I can ask more direct questions and have it passed off as me researching monastery security."

"Excellent," Claude said. "Let's get to it, then."

Teach nodded and headed towards the dining hall. Hilda cut straight across the courtyard towards the entrance hall. Marianne nervously said, "I doubt I'll be of much help, but I'll be back this evening to see what everyone else learned."

"If you say so," Claude said. "You might hear something none of the rest of us do." _Because you're so quiet no one knows you're there or assumes you're not paying them any attention._

"I don't know," she said doubtfully and walked quickly after Hilda.

That left north as the only direction no one had gone yet. Claude stretched his arms behind his bed, then sauntered off in the general direction of the training grounds.

_Oh, yeah, tournament today. Not that I'm in any condition to participate. Hmm. Neither of the girls would give it a try unless Teach asked them to. Ignatz, maybe..._

"Are you registering, von Riegan?" that sneering voice asked behind him.

"Not until our professors stop coddling me," he answered, turning.

"Good. Then I'll take your place," Felix said and stepped forward to put his name down for Golden Deer.

"Hey, whoa, are you allowed to do that?" Claude demanded.

"Don't see why not if none of you Deer are going to. I want to test my blade against the boar and that barbarian princess."

"Hey, bro, be respectful. You should learn to fear the Deer," Claude said, but there was far more iron in his voice than he intended.

"Then come at me once your arm is healed up. In the meantime, I've got to warm up for my real match." As Felix walked away, he added, "And get a grip. Your infatuation with your professor is getting pretty pathetic."

White hot rage flooded Claude's brain. Later, he would reflect that jumping someone who had as good of grades in armed combat as Felix did was almost suicide, but the only thing that kept him from getting expelled was Leonie grabbing his injured left arm as Sylvain caught him by the right.

"Heh. Pathetic." Felix said again and walked into the training yard.

"Dude, chill," Sylvain said. "Felix gets under everyone's skin."

"What has gotten into you?" Leonie demanded.

"Ow, ow, ow, Leonie get off!" Claude howled. "Geez, you guys, I'm all right. I just lost my temper for a minute." He shook his arm, then his shoulders as an afterthought. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Most of it," Sylvain admitted. "I was coming to watch the tournament."

"I heard from 'fear the Deer'," Leonie said and giggled. "I love it. I'm going to remember it."

Claude groaned.

"Better, I'm going to tell Hilda!" Leonie walked off, still laughing and repeating "Fear the Deer!"

"At least that's the part she's focusing on," Claude muttered.

"No shame in a little crush," Sylvain said soothingly. "I bet half the guys in this school are in love with her. It's not like people are going around making fun of you- Felix aside. I mean, I've checked out the professor a couple of times myself. That sexy blue dress of hers... oh, or the black little shirt that leaves her belly button bare..."

"Sylvain, seriously. Shut up. I don't want to hear anyone getting dirty about her." Claude said. Why deny it now?

_How freaking obvious have I been?_

"You know, I'm kind of jealous, and I bet Felix is too. Of your class. I mean, when you described the Golden Deer as a group of misfits before the mock battle, it was kind of true. All of you were disorganized and kind of loners... but now look at you. All of you are friends, Leonie jumping in for you just now, sitting at the same table, laughing all the time at your jokes or at Hilda's goofiness- you're really bringing people together, Claude. I wish the Blue Lions could be like that again." Sylvain shrugged and jammed his hands in his pockets. "And maybe Felix should be around people other than, you know, his two ex-best-friends and the girl who was supposed to marry his idolized dead big brother. I think the professor pushing him to be the best and his little rivalry with Leonie are good for him."

_Rivalry with Leonie? Where was I during this?_

"Anyway... just let him roll off your back," Sylvain said and ducked into the training grounds to watch the tournament.

* * *

When they reassembled that evening, Claude was pleased to find that he and Teach had come to the same conclusion: the most likely place was the holy mausoleum.

"Well, let's go check it out!" Hilda chirped, in the spirit of things for once.

"Not now," Teach said. "Closer to the day of."

"Too many people around and too many of us. They're bound to ask why we're asking so many questions." Claude agreed.

"Well, you're the best at sneaking around, Claude, so we'll leave it to you." Hilda said. "Coming Marianne?"

"What? Umm, oh, yes," she said in her usual distracted way. She hesitated, then blurted out, "When they open it for the ceremony, they'll need a couple of days to clean it and let it air out. That might be the best time for Claude to go and look at it." She turned and hurried after Hilda.

"Good insight," Teach noted laconically.

"I told her that her observations might be valuable," Claude said. "I'm kind of glad she hurried away like she does. I was worried that if I thanked her or complimented her it would come off as condescending."

Teach nodded and hid a yawn behind her hand. "I second Hilda," she said. "It's not snooping if there's more than one person, so we'll leave it to you to get reasonable intel for us." She walked across the room and sat at her desk.

"That's what we'll do then," he said and rubbed his aching arm. "Don't stay up all night, Teach."

"Who's the professor here, me or you?" She demanded.

"Professor von Riegan, researcher of relics. I like the sound of that. It sounds much more natural than 'His Sovereign Grace, Claude, Duke von Riegan'." Claude smirked. "Wanna trade, Teach? You probably would be better at it than me, and I can muddle around here for the next few decades."

"No, thank you," she said firmly. "There is a wide disparity between field command and politics.

"I was afraid you'd see it that way." He waved goodnight and headed back towards his room, exhausted by the day's drama.

* * *

"-request the favor of your company at a tea held in honor of your birthday at four of the clock this afternoon'," Claude read the small formal, handwritten card pinned to his door. As it turned out, Teach had terrible penmanship.

 _A birthday tea, huh? How delightfully old-fashioned!_ Claude found himself charmed. He smiled as he pulled on his boots.

By the time he reached the training yard, his stomach was a mess of nerves.

"Happy birthday, Claude!" Hilda squealed as he walked in. "I made you this! I hope you like it!" She held out a small, neatly wrapped brown paper package.

"Hilda, you didn't have to get me anything," he said, embarrassed and awkwardly holding them present.

"Open it!" She insisted, and he slowly untied the ribbon and spread open the paper to reveal a beautiful leather baldric stamped with the image of a stag with a magnificent rack of antler. He stared at it dumbfounded as she rattled on, "Now, I didn't put any fringe on it, because I thought it would get in your way, but if you want me to dress it up a little, I can put the fringe on and maybe a little beadwork-"

"Hilda, this must have cost you an arm and a leg! I can't accept this!" he protested.

"Oh, foo. A few pieces of leather, the buckles, and Ignatz drew the design for me to stamp it." She waved her hand dismissively. "Leonie didn't dither half so much over her quiver strap."

"You made this?" He was still stunned.

"Leatherwork is a little harder than jewelry, but you're all so...active, what else can I make that you'll actually use?" she shrugged. "My friends are not traditional accessory people."

"Thank you," he finally said. "And thank you Ignatz for the wonderful drawing."

"Best wishes for the coming year, Claude," Ignatz said in his formal way.

"You owe me good for my birthday now," she teased.

"Anyone know when Teach's is?" he asked. What if he had missed it?

"Midwinter," her distinctive voice said behind him. "The solstice to be exact. Happy birthday, Claude."

"Thanks Teach," he said.

"Besides, with that baldric, everyone will learn to FEAR THE DEER!" Hilda giggled wildly. Leonie joined in. The rest of the class, thankfully, looked mystified.

"All right, ten warm-up laps- today we're focusing on our archery..."

* * *

At promptly four o'clock, Claude slid into the gazebo and grabbed a chair across from Teach. "I ran the whole way," he joked. She gave him that one-sided part smile and concentrated on pouring the tea. He suddenly realized she was as nervous as he was- on her end about "doing it right" since she wasn't a noble.

He thanked her and lifted the cup to his nose. A very warm scent, spicy and familiar, raised his spirits to the heavens. He sipped. Perfection.

"So, Teach, how long have you known?" he pointed into the steaming cup.

"Since you're the only person in class who ever answers questions about Almyran tactics, or who knows anything about wyverns, or recognized an Almyran proverb, or showed no reaction to my name." She took a sip of the Almyran pine-needle tea.

He wondered if he should say something gallant about her name, but he didn't want to sound like he was coming on too strong and she was named for a famous courtesan after all, and what if she took it the wrong way? Damn, too long, the moment had passed.

"Did you ever find out about Marianne's crest?" she asked after casting about for a topic for a couple of moments. They talked cheerfully about crests and theory for a while and then lapsed into silence. Claude ate a cinnamon cookie, ate another, and finished his second cup of tea. He couldn't think of anything else to say, so he decided to ease out.

"Thanks for the tea, Teach! Let's do it again sometime," he finally said and stood to walk off.

"You're welcome. Happy birthday," she said behind him. He glanced back when he reached the gate. She still sat there staring into her cup of tea.

* * *

A couple of evenings later, he stuck his head into the classroom. Sure enough, there she was, bent almost obsessively over one of her reenactment maps again. He didn't bother to look for his red 'x'. He knew it was there, but her strength training had worked and he barely had a scar.

"Heya, Teach," he called teasingly.

"Hello, Claude," she answered wearily. It was a general tiredness and not annoyance with him. He could tell.

"It's time for our monthly walk-and-strategy-meeting. Are you coming?"

"Are they scheduled now?" She asked.

"More like 'deeply ingrained tradition'," he answered. "The rituals of our youth, honed in four months of the repetition of our ancestors."

She shook her head and came around the desk to meet him. He admired her form as she walked toward him, then fell into step beside her. This month, he took a firm lead across the courtyard and into the cathedral. They perfunctorily blessed themselves and Claude led her around the edge, down the hallway, and to the door of the mausoleum.

"Claude, I'm not the sneakiest person. I thought you were going to snoop by yourself," she whispered.

"Rule one," he murmured back, "no whispers. People hear the hissing sibilants and it draws attention. Low voices are better. Rule two- always act like you belong." He reached around her and pulled open the door. "Weight forward on the balls of your feet. It's your heels that make the noise. After you, Teacher-mine."

She definitely made more noise on the stairs than he did, and he took a quiet pride in being better than her at something. They came around the corner and she leaned in to see better. A giant dais at one end of the room held a marble sarcophagus. An effigy lay on top. In long rows to either side to the main aisle stood additional coffins. A couple of wooden chests were shoved against the walls, one to either side. Lit votive candles burned at intervals along the floor.

"Damn. We'll have to be careful of the fire hazard- no loose clothes. Marianne will have to wear a shorter skirt," Teach muttered. "I'll be in my padded armor, so I'll be fine. There has to be ventilation at least, or the candles wouldn't keep burning."

Claude hadn't thought of that. He squinted and made out a pattern on the floor. "Teach, over there." She followed him over as he went to look. "Some sort of device. Traps, maybe?" He bent down but didn't touch.

"Good eye," she complimented him.

"Not in here. All the flickering shadows will make aiming a pain in the butt," he complained. He shut up and they both heard the sound- footsteps on the stairs. Teach whisked behind a column. Claude could see her skirt and part of a sandal, but he knew where to look. He simply dropped flat between two of the coffins.

Heavy footsteps and the metallic clank of armor heralded the approach of a Knight of Seiros. The rumbling clearing of a throat identified Alois. "Hello? Is anyone down here?" Claude thought there was a bit of nervousness in his voice. Neither he nor Teach dared to move.

"If you're planning a prank, this is very serious. This area is off limits. Fess up and I'll see that you only get detention."

Claude found the idea of Teach in detention funny, but was too nervous to laugh. Alois waited, tapping his foot in its armored boot, then tried a third time.

"There are better places to make out than down here."

Claude stuffed his arm into his mouth. He thought he heard a muffled sound from Teach. Alois waited what felt to Claude like an eternity, then turned and clanked back up the stairs. They heard the heavy doors open and close. Claude waited anxiously, but didn't hear the bolt slide home. He waited a minute or two more in case Alois was just waiting at the top of the stairs to catch them, then finally levered himself back to his feet. Teach, conversely, slid down the column to the floor.

"I thought we were goners," she sighed, having the sense to keep quiet.

Claude was grinning widely. It would have been funny with any girl, but Teach? To bad Seteth checked all the outgoing mail, or he would have to tell Nader about this adventure. And Teach was acting like a normal girl, not some dignified professor.

"I'll go check it out," he offered and slipped silently over to peer up the staircase.

Nada.

Breathlessly, Claude climbed the stairs and pressed himself against the door.

A low clank of armor froze his blood.

Silently, he snuck back down the stairs and back over to Teach.

"We're goners," he said.

* * *

The monastery bell roused him the next morning. He hoisted his stiff body off the floor, stretched, and climbed the stairs again. Hearing nothing, he cautiously pushed the door open.

Apparently, Alois had left sometime during the night.

Claude hurried back down the stairs and shook Teach's shoulder. "Teach! Teach, come on! Wake up!"

Groggily, she opened her eyes and stared at Claude in confusion. Her hand was stretched towards the sarcophagus. Her voice slurred, she murmured, "They used my blood in their experiments and killed my children with my heart, engraved with the emblem of fire." Her voice didn't sound like her- higher-pitched and somewhat harsh.

"Teach, you're freaking me out," he said carefully. It was probably a trick of the light, but her eyes looked different- lighter and the pupils narrow slits.

_Oh gods oh gods oh gods is she possessed or zombies or shitshitshitshit!_

Her hand moved to her heart. She closed her eyes, shook her head, and looked up at him with her dark blue eyes. "Claude?" she slurred, and it was her own mature, low voice. "I had the most horrible nightmare."

"Then let's get you out of here, Teach. Alois is gone. It's morning and the ritual is tonight. Maybe we should catch naps in our own rooms."

She nodded numbly and allowed him to lead her out into the morning light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, major note: This is the first time in this fic I reference the fact that I don't use the name Byleth for the player unit because I have very different personalities for the four different "Byleths" of each route. In Verdant Wind, I use the name Larishka, which was the name of a dancing girl in Dun-huang during the late Tang Dynasty. She was from one of the ethnic groups "to the west" of China, and that might put her in approximately the area that would later become Persia. Regardless, she was an amazing woman who went through a lot and survived it. I appropriated it for an "Almyran" name for my protagonist, since Sitri isn't exactly a Central European name either. Claude nicknames her "Laika" later.
> 
> Lorenz/Ignatz C  
> Felix/Teach C  
> Marianne/Teach C  
> Hilda/Teach C  
> Ignatz/Lysithea C  
> Raphael/Lysithea C  
> Lysithea/Teach C
> 
> Beginner: Claude->Fighter  
> Teach->Myrmidon  
> Raphael->Fighter  
> Lysithea->Monk


	5. Chapter 5

Claude was glad they were both rested and recovered that night or what was an unmitigated nightmare would have been a wholesale slaughter. There were far more invaders in the tomb than he expected, all of them fast and experienced professionals and many of them wielding deadly magic. First Leonie, then Raphael were felled by fire and dark magic. Claude gagged as he stepped over Raphael to cut down that mage, feeling brutal and callous. A scream from the other side of the aisle told him that one of the girls was down.

He risked a look as he swigged a vulnerary, momentarily out of the crush. Lysithea was rushing back to cover Hilda, who now faced reinforcements alone. Marianne was crumpled on the floor.

Claude felt a rush of lightheadedness. He had sworn Teach had shouted "Hilda, lance!", but Hilda was not ten feet away firing arrows as fast as she could at a pikeman and a swordsman, while that masked creepy knight sat in the center of the room and watched the carnage.

Claude, Ignatz, and Lorenz got there in time to help mop up the reinforcements.

"I must go," the masked knight intoned and Warped away. Catherine crashed down the stairs with backup to round up the two surviving mages and help carry Claude's classmates up the stairs to the infirmary. Claude glanced back over his shoulder and his heart stopped in his chest.

Teach was standing at the top of the dais next to the open sarcophagus. She watched them carrying away three of Claude's classmates with her most unemotional expression. And held loosely in her right hand was a sword. A glowing red sword.

The sword he had been searching for through records, legends, and histories for five months.

_Oh gods above, are you mocking me?!_

"von Riegan! Quit woolgathering and give me a hand with the big guy!" Catherine snapped and Claude helped her carry Raphael's stretcher up the stairs.

* * *

A couple of nights later, Claude stood in his favorite window staring up at the stars. A star in the wyvern's bridle seemed particularly bright tonight and that was the one he focused on.

He needed that weapon. Failnaught, if he ever inherited it, was a symbol of the von Riegan house and could potentially win him the respect of the alliance lords, but if he was going to get anyone to listen to him, he would need a larger symbol, something beyond the petty squabbling of a bunch of self-interested Fodlanese minor lords.

_She's a mercenary. You can buy her or you can buy the blade. Regardless, you can probably still get your hands on it when you have the entire Riegan treasury at your disposal._

_Just pray she doesn't learn its worth._

He glanced down at the courtyard. One candle gleamed in the Golden Deer homeroom.

He silently turned and walked to another window.

* * *

The entire rest of the class passed their exams that month, and as they prepared to set out on a mission to subdue pirates (a small annoyance, this bunch of kids could easily take care of the problem as a training mission), they were admiring their robes and new padded armor. Ignatz, Lorenz, and Marianne had all opted to study magic; Leonie and Hilda were now classified as soldiers.

As Teach checked weapons and the fit of armor, Claude realized she was wearing a very good quality steel sword- not the sword.

"Hey, Teach, what'd you do with that relic?" he asked, trying to make it sound like an idle question.

"I locked it in the weapons locker," she answered absently as she rearranged Hilda's cuirass- the new soldier was complaining of chafing.

"Aren't you going to, you know, use it?" he asked.

"Against a bunch of pirates?" she stood up. "Better?"

"Thanks, Professor!" Hilda chirped. "Claude, what's your deal? You've been brooding for a week."

Claude ignored Hilda. "So you're saving it for our major missions, like that rogue brother of Sylvain's we're preparing for?"

"Hey Professor, why are we waiting so long before going to deal with that thief?" Hilda asked. Claude clenched his fists in frustration. Couldn't Hilda shut up for ten seconds?

"Lady Rhea wants us to wait until our scouts have fully mapped the area and the Knight who's going to be our dogsbody returns from his current mission."

"Professor, you're awful!" Hilda grinned at the use of the word 'dogsbody' for a Knight of Seiros and walked over to show her new armor to Marianne. Claude stood tapping his foot impatiently.

"Claude, I don't need a relic to fight the petty opponents we've been facing. And if this thing is so dangerous that a group of desperate men are going to break into a well-guarded fortress and rob a tomb for it, then I probably shouldn't be openly carrying it around- it's better that no one knows I have it." She shook her head. "I don't have any mountains that need the tops cut off anyway."

She turned away from him. "Golden Deer, form up!"

* * *

The candle had been burning every night since the fight in the mausoleum.

Claude swore and swung down the steps from his place of refuge. He crossed the courtyard at what was for him an incautious trot and slid into the classroom.

"Are you getting any sleep at all?" he demanded. She jerked her dropping head up and stared across the room at him. Her dark-ringed eyes answered his question. "What do you think is going to do us more good? You playing 'what if' games until you collapse from exhaustion or you being well-rested and alert when we need you to make those life and death decisions?"

Anger flashed across her features, the most human and heartfelt emotion that he had seen from her since she had snapped at Jeralt. "I am responsible for each and every one of you-"

He cut her off. "No, we are responsible for each and every one of us. We have to learn from you. We have to put our studies into practice. You're not going to be there when Ignatz and Raphael's commanders are giving commands to their 'worthless' peasant conscripts. You won't be there when the Almyrans raid Goneril territory. You won't be there when I have to rally the Alliance troops somehow into one cohesive force. You won't be there!"

_You won't be there when I need you the most..._

He realized she was shaking.

"Teach. Teach, I'm sorry. I was just trying to get you to take care of yourself." He cast around trying to think of something to say. "Come and take a walk with me? Not one of our strategy walks, just a walk?"

She hesitated. Just when he was about to apologize again and go, she nodded once, tightly.

He thought they were aimlessly wandering, until they reached the patio near the stables. She stopped, then turned and walked down the stairs to a small cemetery that Claude hadn't even known was there. She stood staring at the headstone.

He bent, squinting to read it in the moonlight and reflected torchlight from other parts of the monastery.

"Sitri Eisner," he finally read aloud, then realized. "Eisner?"

"My mother." She replied. Her face was in its unemotional mask again. "At least I know her name now and that she's even here. It took me five months to learn my mother is buried here. I still don't know how she died, or why she's here, or why it took my dad so long to tell me. He just kind of asked me to meet him here and then told me about her personality and that... she loved me, and then said he had to go back to work."

"Sitri. That's not a Fodlanese name." Claude said. "That explains why you have an Almyran name, if nothing else. And we know now she was probably connected to the church if she was buried her- clergy or a Knight."

"Then why won't my father tell me anything now that I'm here?" She demanded, frustrated.

_She's upset, more upset than she'll admit. Comfort her! Comfort her, you clod!_

He awkwardly wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Almyrans weren't very comfortable with touching and even his mother had adopted the customs of her husband's homeland. After a moment, she just as awkwardly reached up and patted the hand that rested on her shoulder.

 _Heh. Fodlanese girl isn't any more used to this than I am. Go figure._ He let his arm drop. "You've got a lot going on. No wonder you're so stressed."

"You're probably right. I should get some rest." She agreed and turned towards the stairs again.

"Night, Teach," he called after her.

"Good night, Claude."

* * *

It was almost the end of the month and this time late afternoon when he ducked into the classroom with his cheerful,

"Heya, Teach!"

"Hello, Claude," she answered immediately, setting down her schematic on the desk and walking around to meet him. No reason to discuss it- it was the day before a mission and therefore a walk-and-talk planning session was in order.

"-worry about ambushes from the side staircases, because we don't have the manpower to separate and flush out the rats. I'm counting on keeping the class together and advancing in a classic wedge formation with our archers- you and Leonie- on our left-hand side. This is a tighter space than any you kids have fought in before. Also, torches causing the same shadow issues as before and possible echoes adding to the confusion, judging by the shape of that vaulted ceiling. I may be forced to rely on hand-signals." Teach summed up her report on the conditions they'd probably be facing. "Now, life and death situation that it is, I know you were paying attention, but what else is so deeply on your mind?"

"Uh," he glanced around the market square. "You know, I fancy seeing some trees right about now, Teach. What do you say we walk down the road in the pass?"

She looked at him fixedly for a moment, then gave that twitch of an almost-smile. "All right," she agreed in a steady voice. He cast around for a graceful way to start the topic, decided no one was around to hear, and approached it bluntly as soon as they were out of earshot of the walls.

"Is there any reason why you keep assigning me extra duties with Marianne? Like stable duty and air patrol?"

"You two are the only ones comfortable in the air," she answered. "You both could benefit from more equestrian training. And I assign Raphael and Hilda to the heavy labor chores because I know he can handle it and her, and because she needs the discipline. I rotate the chores in order through the student duties. If you haven't noticed, I've also more or less assigned battle buddies by whom I choose for training details. Hilda encourages Marianne's confidence, Lorenz benefits by Lysithea refusing to put up with his noble routine, Raphael and Ignatz flow well together due to their shared history, and Leonie and Felix bring out the best in each other through their competitiveness."

"Oh. Who's my battle-buddy then?" Claude asked, bewildered.

"Me, of course," Teach answered calmly. "Since you and I are the most experienced combatants, I don't have to worry about watching my back and I hope my command experience will benefit you later when you're making the military decisions for the entire Alliance. At least, I _hope_ you're learning through observation."

He considered the last few months of training and missions, nodded slowly, then blurted out, "so you're not playing matchmaker between me and Marianne?"

_Stupid, stupid..._

She turned those serious dark blue eyes on him for a moment. "That's not my job. But I've done some research on all of you kids and the situations you're walking into when you graduate. So I have given it some thought."

"Tell on, gentle lady, and we shall see if your political wit matches your martial might," Claude said extravagantly, wiping the sweat of their hike from his brow.

She crouched despite the dancer's dress and sketched a very rough map of the Alliance into the dirt. "You, Claude von Riegan, are a sovereign duke in a world of hurt."

"That's the story of my life," he agreed.

"Granted, there is only one noble family with title, lands, and income equal to yours in the Alliance, but its heir is hostile to you and the sire, rumor has it, is thoroughly corrupt and may have had a hand in the disposal of your uncle. If only Lorenz had a sister, your problems would be more easily handled."

"Unfortunate me," Claude grumbled, disgusted by the idea of becoming Lorenz's brother.

"You are, as you frequently point out, an outsider and therefore your loyalties are under constant scrutiny. As such, you must marry in a manner as to put those suspcions to rest- in short, a daughter of an Alliance noble. Lysithea is sickly and her family retains their power just barely and only under the sufferance of the Empire- no matter how independent the Alliance likes to think it is."

"Ouch. Harsh." Claude protested, but he knew it was true.

"Anyway, her house is carrying more problems than a marriage alliance with them would solve. She would do well to marry into a more powerful house or even a second son in the Empire, like that Caspar of the Eagles, but it would wreck you. Of your classmates- and there are probably some better candidates I'm not aware of who aren't at the Academy- Hilda is a good choice because she's not an heiress and it would tie you to the popular Holst, but her lands are a bit removed from yours and you'd be adding to their coffers more often than they added to yours, what with their constant wartime footing."

"I'd think I'd want an heiress, if we're being pragmatic about it," Claude muttered.

"And that's where Marianne comes in. von Edmund is clever and popular and would make another strong ally. He's also a social climber, so who better for his adopted daughter than the heir to the dukedom? However many heiresses aren't married to heirs for a reason: it subsumes one household into the other. After his death, von Edmund lands, title, etc, would pass to the von Riegan estate, ending the von Riegan line. Whereas, if she marries a second son, the lands and title stay in her line since he won't have any inheritance of his own. Depending on whether papa values the von Riegan prestige or continuing his own legacy more."

"So basically you think I should start sending flowers to Hilda and Marianne," Claude said flatly.

"Or Lady Daphnel," Teach said with a straight face.

"Gross!" Claude couldn't help it. He burst into laughter. When he sobered he said, "yeah, this is the sort of thing my mother eloped with my father to avoid."

"Claude, you don't have that luxury. Politics and romance don't mix. I mean, you could always take a mistress later if you want romance after you've sired your 'heir and spare'. Or, um, male mistress, I suppose, if your tastes run that way. I guess."

"Well, your Golden Fawn has a while before he starts locking horns with other stags over the Golden Does," Claude said briskly. "I have no desire to become another Lorenz or Sylvain, trying to spread my nobility around the monastery, no matter how fair the belly button."

He froze, blushing furiously. Had he really just brought up Sylvain's lustful musings?

"Oh, we're having tortellini for dinner?" she asked facetiously, her expression perfectly blank. Claude burst into laughter again and walked with her back to the monastery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My test audience informs me that "no one is going to get the tortellini joke except you". I decided to leave it in there anyway. Tortellini is said to have been invented because the shape reminded the chef of (insert famous Italian woman's name here)'s belly button.
> 
> Beginner: Claude->Fighter  
> Teach->Myrmidon  
> Raphael->Fighter  
> Lysithea->Monk  
> Ignatz-> Monk  
> Marianne-> Monk  
> Hilda-> Soldier  
> Lorenz->Monk  
> Leonie-> Soldier
> 
> Raphael/Marianne C  
> Lysithea/Marianne C  
> Lysithea/Hilda C  
> Marianne/Hilda C  
> Raphael/Leonie C  
> Ignatz/Lysithea C  
> Lorenz/Teach C  
> Claude/Ignatz C  
> Claude/Marianne B  
> Lorenz/Hilda C  
> Raphael/Ignatz C  
> Ignatz Leonie C  
> Leonie/Hilda C


	6. Chapter 6

Claude now knew how Teach felt and he rather wished he had a topography map, counters, and red wax of his own. She had hung back to cover against the enemy forces coming up on their rear and had given him the command. He had followed their initial strategy- he and Leonie crept along the wall, with the others fanned out across the middle of the corridor, hopefully out of bowrange. He had left Hilda, Marianne, Lysithea, and Lorenz to cover a back stairway while he advanced with Leonie and Ignatz. He was proud of the kid, who was choosing to use his blade despite the monk robes he now wore- Ignatz had a lot more gumption than Claude had thought. Claude hand-signaled the group at the stairway north to deal with a split in the corridor, then led Leonie and Ignatz around the corner.

An ambuscade jumped them, aiming mostly for Ignatz.

Leonie dragged his wounded form back against the wall and stood over him, but by the time the others caught up she was in pretty bad shape too, though still on her feet.

Claude had a scratch.

_I shouldn't have gone around the corner blind. I should have waited until everyone else caught up. What is wrong with me?_

His hands shook ever so slightly. He tried to calm himself. When brewing poisons, one needed steady hands and steady nerves.

_If I had found the Sword of the Creator before Teach, would it have done to me what that relic did to that guy?_

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, but his mind kept replaying Ignatz's shout as he went down, the whispered apology for letting Claude down...

There was a tap at Claude's door. "You didn't come to class today," a familiar, low voice called quietly through the crack. "I wanted to check on you.

Claude let Teach into his room and spilled his guts.

* * *

He was still nervous on Monday, trying to figure out how to apologize to Ignatz for putting his life in danger. He slouched into the classroom and towards his desk, then stopped at the desk three back and on the right.

"So you finally made the jump, huh?" He meant to sound friendly, but it still came out sounding sardonic.

"That's right," Felix said, attitude in his own voice. "I couldn't take any more of the boar prince and his pretenses."

"Great! I'm sure you'll feel better with Teach and Leonie here to help you out," Claude tried so hard to be sincere, but the 'great' still felt false in his mouth.

"I'm not here to feel better. I'm here to get stronger."

"What for?" Claude asked. His damn mouth. "I mean, what are you going to do with it when you get back to Faerghus?"

For the first time, the sneer slid off Felix's face. "You know, she asked me the same question," he said and sank back into thought.

Claude shook his head and went to his own desk. There was no dealing with that guy.

* * *

That weekend, Claude was idly wandering around the courtyard. He had hung out with Hilda for a bit, but she had gone off with some of her friends and he was now at a loss of how to spend his afternoon.

Someone tapped his shoulder. "Do you want to have some tea with me?" Teach asked. "I have some more Almyran pine and I have some cathedral window cookies to go with it."

"Sure!" he said and followed her back to the gazebo. They settled in and she asked about the battalion he had been training with. They wandered from gambits to books: she mostly read military treatises, but she also liked books of political theory to explain those treaties and alliances that led to the wars she participated in, he preferred histories and obscure lore. From books the conversation drifted to cooking and good food in general. They wound up comparing different eateries in the village- some of which were only open when large crowds of pilgrims were expected, like during the Rite of Rebirth.

"Bigger crowds in Ethereal Moon, I can promise you." He noted. "All of the eateries will be open then."

"But is anyone going to want to walk down in the cold and snow just to get a meal?" she shook her head.

"I'm game if you are," he promised. He lifted an eyebrow in challenge.

"All right, last day of classes before the holiday to celebrate," she said.

"Sounds great!" he grinned and stood to help her clean up the table. He suddenly paused. Did he just make a date with his Teach?

She was oblivious. "Sorry about your birthday," she was saying. "I think I was trying too hard to 'do it right'. I hope today was more fun."

"So much fun that I am stealing the rest of these cookies, Teach," he said and crammed another in his mouth. He waved cheerfully, picked up the basket and loped off.

* * *

Flayn was missing.

Teach instantly rounded up her class and set them to looking. Each of them had a small silver whistle to blow if they found anything. If not, rendezvous in two hours at the classroom.

"You know, Professor Jeritza has been distracted lately and his blade work is... off. I'd ask if anything's been bothering him," Felix said thoughtfully as they dispersed.

"I'm on it," Teach said and jogged away.

It was nearing their rendezvous time when they heard a whistle. Running, they converged on Ignatz, who was blowing his heart out. "I heard a woman screaming from over there!" he gasped out, pointing.

"Weapons out," Teach ordered. They cautiously advanced on the spot, which proved to be Professor Jeritza's quarters. Teach flung open the door.

Professor Manuela lay in a pool of blood, her arm outstretched towards a staircase hidden in the wall behind a pushed-aside bookcase.

"What in the world is- Professor Manuela!" Professor Hanneman exclaimed, rushing into the room behind them. "You, boy, help me carry her to the infirmary!"

"Yes, sir," Claude answered promptly. He knelt to gently help Hanneman roll her onto her back. His heart sank with dread as he heard the familiar voice order behind him,

"Golden Deer- advance!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beginner: Claude->Fighter  
> Teach->Myrmidon  
> Raphael->Fighter  
> Lysithea->Monk  
> Ignatz-> Monk  
> Marianne-> Monk  
> Hilda-> Soldier  
> Lorenz->Monk  
> Leonie-> Soldier
> 
> Claude/Teach B  
> Claude/Ignatz C  
> Claude/Leonie C  
> Lorenz/Marianne C  
> Lorenz/Leonie C  
> Ignatz/Marianne C  
> Leonie/Felix B  
> Raphael/Teach B


	7. Chapter 7

Claude nervously paced the hallway outside the infirmary. He longed to rush downstairs and join his friends- who knew what they would encounter in that passage?- but Professor Hanneman had ordered him to stay in case he was needed.

Besides, if anyone was hurt, he'd know faster if he stayed put.

The door to his right suddenly flung open. "Don't you have homework or something to do?" Jeralt growled. "You're driving me to distraction!"

"Sorry, sir," Claude apologized. "I'll try to stop."

"Or just do your pacing elsewhere," Jeralt didn't sound appeased. "My daughter doesn't seem to mind. Go bother her."

"I'm not supposed to leave until Golden Deer get back," Claude explained. "They're chasing someone who wounded Professor Manuela. We believe he's kidnapped Flayn. I have to stay with Professor Manuela until told otherwise."

Jeralt's face softened. "It's hard to be the one left behind while others risk their lives. My girl's right. You're good kids." Claude smelled the booze on the Knight's breath as he continued. "Well, just go pace in the hallway down there and keep it down." He shut his door again.

Claude obeyed.

It felt like an eternity before he heard a bustle on the stairs. Teach, Raphael, Lorenz, and Ignatz carried two stretchers. The missing Flayn was on one and a girl he didn't recognize was on the other. None of his friends seemed to have been seriously injured this time.

Claude sagged with relief. As the Golden Deer bantered and joked with relief, he realized something incredible: Teach was smiling. A genuine, full smile.

* * *

With Flayn's successful rescue and the mock Battle of the Eagle and Lion coming up, everyone was in a festival mood. The following free day, everyone except Claude fished. Teach passed the thief exam, Marianne her priestess exam, and Lysithea was officially a mage.

"Why a thief, though?" Claude asked as Teach poured them tea that evening. "Why does the church even have that as a registered style of fighting?"

Teach shrugged. "Maybe it's an archaic usage," she guessed. "In practice, it's more like a scout with its emphasis on blades and stealth. The goddess knows that between the two of us and our proclivities, I'm getting plenty of practice at sneaking around."

"Oh, but Teach, does that mean you're learning as much from me as I am from you?" Claude teased. "Maybe you should be calling me Professor von Riegan after all. Then I can lecture you and counsel you until you trust me enough to spill your each and every fascinating secret." To his surprise and amusement, a slow blush spread across her nose and forehead. "You can't even blush conventionally can you?"

"That is quite enough," she said sternly. "I was going to praise you for how your swordplay is coming along, but now I think I shall retract it and write you up for insubordination instead."

"Fair Teacher, pole star of my academic growth, I could never be insubordinate to you. The dignity and respect you wield must ever temper my enthusiasm with silence. To the bottom of my soul I am, and can ever only be, your humble servant and loyal disciple in the discipline of any and all martial pursuits," he declaimed.

She looked at him for a moment, took a tart, and then gave a most unladylike snort. "Respectful silence? You?" She grinned. She shook her head and put the tart down on her plate. Claude grinned back at her, elated. Whatever other praise or advice she had for him was gone in the tumult of his teasing, as she continued to smile and, gradually, tease him back.

When she wasn't looking, he stole her tart.

* * *

Lorenz had gotten a letter from his father regarding the machinations of that slippery noble git Acheron taking and holding a major crossroads technically in Gloucester territory. He requested Teach's aid with the upshot that the class was now marching northwest into Alliance territory.

"Why doesn't he request help from your grandfather?" Teach asked curiously. "And where did he think Lorenz was going to get the troops for this little undertaking?"

"See, that's the thing, Teach. If he asked for my grandfather to interfere, it would imply he couldn't take care of his own affairs. The Sovereign Duke is not a king, remember- just 'first among equals' and the tie-breaker at round table conferences. If he asked the church for help, ditto- the other Alliance nobles would decide he was weak and start picking at his borders. If he hired mercenaries, it would look like he was taking Acheron seriously. So he dumps it in Lorenz's lap and passes it off as training for his heir- no biggie- and Lorenz cons you into using Golden Deer resources- that is, church resources paid for by Alliance nobles' donations. And it doesn't hurt for Acheron and the other Alliance nobles to see a von Riegan, an Edmund, an Ordelia, and a Goneril all working together for Gloucester against Acheron. They'd probably have been happier if Fraldarius stayed behind- he might make it look as if Gloucester had to rely on the Kingdom nobles to retain their power and position or as if the Kingdom is trying to interfere in Alliance affairs."

"Adequately, if crudely, explained," Lorenz sniffed.

Claude rolled his eyes.

They managed to rout Acheron without too much trouble and the little coward was sent home sniveling after pleading for clemency. Claude took stock of his surroundings. He was leaning with his hands on his knees. He'd had another one of those light-headed moments with the strange deja vu- he had thought Teach had ordered Hilda to fire on a pegasus knight only to see Leonie sprint over instead.

As he chugged from his waterskin, he saw Raphael and Marianne hovering over a downed Ignatz.

"Gut wound," Teach said beside him, her face taught with worry and exhaustion. "A peg knight dropped right on top of him from overhead. Marianne assures me that between them, she, Lorenz, and Lysithea can get him back on his feet and walk him back home. Claude, this is ridiculous. This is his third major wound this year! He has moments of bravery that astound me, and then we drag him back on another stretcher. He won't listen to me when I try to suggest that maybe he'd do better in a knight's retinue than becoming one himself."

"You think he's going to listen to me, Teach? He thinks the goddess inspires your every move. I'm just the class clown as far as he's concerned." Claude thought for a moment. "I think maybe Lorenz could get through to him. They've had tea together a few times and I think they're fairly close."

Teach nodded and walked over to see how the mages were coming with him. Claude sighed. He didn't want to be responsible for Ignatz dying any more than Teach did. And if he commanded civilian units someday- he just might be.

* * *

A day or two before the Battle of the Eagle and Lion (Claude felt like a second-class citizen or the underdog everytime he heard the name), he looked up from the book he was reading to see Teach leaning in his doorway.

"Heya, Teach," he said, slipping a scrap of paper between the pages.

"Heya, Claude," she answered. He sat up, pulled on his boots, ran his hand through his hair, and fell into step beside her. She didn't speak until they were well outside the market gates and walking down the switchback road.

"At least my thighs get a workout during our strategy meetings," he joked, then wondered if that was too risque and added "not to mention my calves and feet."

Teach shot him a stern look and he felt properly abashed. "So," she said, and he automatically straightened his shoulders. "Unlike the last mock battle, this is a full clash between the three houses- every member of the class and the battalions we've been training with besides. We are using chalk-coated practice weapons again and padded armor, but there is a ballista on the hill in the center, and even with padding and blunted arrows, that's gonna hurt."

Claude winced his agreement.

"We're positioned on the north side of the field. There are three bridges across the river, which is too deep and fast to ford. To our west is a clump of trees that goes almost up to the bridge. Lions are southeast corner and Eagles are southwest. Lions have some trees on their side of the river. The hill with the ballista is surrounded by rough, rock terrain. Otherwise, the field is clear."

"At least this time, Edelgard and Dimitri will be also fighting each other and not just ganging up on us. I hope. I'm pretty sure." Claude smirked. "Regardless, there are going to be some in Blue Lions who see Felix as a traitor for joining our class. I don't know yet whether that will help or hinder our cause."

"Anything else?" Teach asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I want to divide our forces, risky as that is, and get across those three bridges as fast as possible before they destroy them and strand us on our side of the river. One group left to confront Dimitri, one group right to force Edelgard's attention, and one group up the center to seize that ballista."

Teach looked disappointed.

"What?" he demanded.

"That was a little less than I expected," she said.

"Well, Teach, I'll decide how I'm dividing my forces when I see how the other two have deployed. It's the first battle in the campaign and I don't have scouts in the field or spies in their lines. All I have to go on is how they train as individuals in the training yard." It came out more tart than he intended.

She continued to stare for another few moments, then dropped her gaze. "Well, there we are," she said. "I wish we could be a little better prepared, but this is what we've got. I wish we could have at least studied the battlefield first, if nothing else."

They turned to walk back. "I talked to Lorenz," Teach said.

"I'm sorry," Claude joked sardonically.

She eyed him. "About Ignatz."

"Oh." Claude paused. "What did he say?"

"He's already offered Ignatz a position as one of his retainers. Ignatz apparently wants some time to think it over."

"It's secure employment," Claude said. "Honestly, Teach? Gloucester is too sneaky to be openly aggressive. Iggy might not have much risk of seeing combat under Lorenz. This might not actually be such a bad arrangement."

Teach thought about that. The rest of their walk back was in silence. They skirted the battlements, and Teach continued on past the greenhouses.

"Hey, hey Claude, way to go!" Sylvain catcalled. Claude suddenly realized that what looked like most of the school was out soaking up sun near the greenhouses and fishing pool.

"Grow up, Gautier," Claude sighed. "Teach and I always talk strategy before missions. I think she thinks better when she's up and moving. I know I do."

"Foolishness," Lorenz snorted. "If she were to talk strategy, it would be with someone who better knew the history and intrigues of the Leicester Alliance. I certainly could advise her better than some jumped-up imposter."

"Well, I am house leader," Claude reminded him, trying to keep his voice relaxed. "And I would never be so vain as to think I could advise her. She's the practitioner expert and I'm the little lost lambkin after all."

"From such tiny seeds do mighty oaks grow," Sylvain mused. "I would take every opportunity given by private lessons with such a fine lady."

"I'm sure you would. Look, I told you before, keep your mouth off Teach. She's not one of your shopgirl floozies."

"I have listened to this churlish babble long enough!" A voice joined the chorus. Ferdinand strode up from the direction of the stables. "The laws of chivalry demands that a true knight and noble defend the precious reputations of all fair ladies! Sylvain, desist in your crude language or face my blade!"

"All right, all right, sheesh!" Sylvain muttered. "I'm going!"

"Claude, as a future leader of the Leicester Alliance, it would behoove you to behave in a more noble manner. People won't respect you unless you cultivate a more polished mien. Then you could have sent the cad fleeing without my aid."

"That is exactly what I say, my friend," Lorenz exclaimed. "Claude indeed does not display those traits to be so prized in-"

"Well, I'll just draw my sword, rush right on out, and challenge some poor hearty fool to a duel to the humiliation," Claude announced. "If you'll excuse me, I have a cravat to tie and a wig to powder."

As he walked away, he heard Ferdinand ask in puzzlement, "what is wrong with him?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beginner: Claude->Fighter  
> Raphael->Fighter  
> Ignatz-> Monk  
> Hilda-> Soldier  
> Lorenz->Monk  
> Leonie-> Soldier
> 
> Intermediate:  
> Teach->Thief  
> Lysithea-> Mage  
> Marianne-> Priest
> 
> Lorenz/Lysithea C  
> Hilda/Raphael B  
> Ignatz/Hilda C  
> Lysithea/Leonie C  
> Lysithea/Felix C  
> Ignatz/Teach C  
> Marianne/Leonie C  
> Raphael/Ignatz B  
> Claude/Hilda C  
> Claude/Lysithea C  
> Lorenz/Raphael C  
> Marianne/Hilda B


	8. Chapter 8

Gronder Field was a nightmare of a battle. Felix was more than eager to face his former classmates and Teach gave him charge of that side of the field with Hilda and Marianne. Teach headed right down the center of the field with Ignatz and Raphael. Claude took the 'L's' up the right. Not wanting to be arguing every step of the way with Lorenz, Claude assigned him as an adjutant to Lysithea just to keep him out of the way.

By the time they had crept through the woods, the Blue Lions had more or less taken out the Black Eagles, with Ingrid having winged directly over to fling her spear at Edelgard. Leonie and Claude covered Lysithea as she used her amazing magical range to eliminate Ingrid and Linhardt. They moved toward the center to back up Teach's group.

Raphael was out. From what Claude could reconstruct later, he had rushed the hill because the Eagles' Bernie had control of the ballista. Teach had swung east and taken out Ashe to prevent him from getting control of it. Raphael then ran back and stopped Eagles' Ferdinand from harassing their rear. Ignatz took the ballista and scored minor blows here and there while Raphael and Teach covered him.

Then Raphael got surrounded by the Lions' heavy knights. Teach aimed over his head and removed Mercedes, who was healing knights as fast as the pinned Raphael could injure them, but by then it was too late. Teach took out that knight and swung on Dedue who, distracted, was finished by one of Ignatz's arrows. About that time, Claude and the 'L-team' got there and helped to mop up.

On the other side of the field, Felix had headed for Dimitri with such single-minded focus that he had barely noticed Hilda getting injured or Marianne going down. Hilda had kept everyone off his back while he hacked his way through their forces, then rushed Annette before she could bring her powerful magic to bear. Then he continued his grim advance.

He paused at the treeline. "Still standing in your little fortress, eh boar? Come and face me like a man."

"Gladly would I exchange blows with my old friend again," Dimitri answered.

"Friend? Don't make me laugh," Felix sneered. "Beasts don't have friends. They have rough tools they fling away into the underbrush. All of your 'friends' have valiantly charged ahead to 'die' at your command while you've stayed back here safe and sound. Come out of your den, boar, for the hunters have you pinned to earth!"

"I've made allowance for your grief, but enough is enough!" Dimitri roared. He charged at full tilt towards Felix.

Hilda emerged from the trees, one of her arrows striking Dimitri. Surprised, he turned to meet this new threat. Before he could land a blow on her, Felix was on him, wearing his heavy steel gauntlets. He delivered two hard punches to Dimitri's padded midsection, quite a bit harder than a practice battle called for.

"That's it!" Seteth's voice rang clearly over the field. "This year's Battle of the Eagle and Lion has ended. The winners are- the Golden Deer House!"

Cheers and hollers rang out from across the reenactment ground. Even as he joined his classmates in jumping wildly all over each other, Claude knew he would be thinking of that afternoon for a long time.

* * *

There were a lot of second-rank exams that month and Lysithea even passed her third-level exam to become a warlock. Raphael was a brawler, Ignatz decided he preferred the bow to magic and switched to archer, Hilda surprisingly was a brigand ("stick to what you know, and my family knows axes, you know?"), Leonie was also an archer, and Lorenz continued on to become a dark mage. Claude found himself embarrassed to be sitting for the exams to be titled a lord. That night in the dining hall, Claude had to deal with Lorenz's stiff silence and Hilda's teasing comments about nobles and "Mr. Leader Man".

After that night, there was scarcely an evening they were even in the monastery, much less in the dining hall. Teach slipped away to revisit Zanado, of all places (a giant hawk injured Ignatz yet again- the boy was probably a crosspatch work of scars), and hard on the heels of that came a plea for help to Felix from his father regarding bandit activity in Fraldarius lands, and then reports of monsters attacking merchants in Claude's grandfather's Riegan lands.

"Ugh, the way they've kept us running this month, I feel like we should be exempt from going out on a month's end mission." Claude groaned.

"You said it, my lord heir," Hilda agreed. "I am sooo tired."

Claude felt a little ashamed of having made a complaint that the notoriously lazy Hilda could second. He felt even worse as a familiar calloused hand clapped down on his shoulder.

"von Riegan. Come and take a walk with me."

Even through his embarrassment at Teach having caught him complaining, Claude felt a flash of injustice at being singled out of his classmates for an icy Red Wolf Moon walk. He wanted to go soak the mud of the road off in a hot bath and collapse under a warm blanket in his own quiet, private room, clothing optional. Instead, he turned his frozen feet to fall into step with Teach. She wore her long black coat over her blue-dyed "thief" leathers, and the incongruity was a little funny.

Instead of leaving the monastery this time (thank goodness, they had literally only just gotten back!), she opted for them to walk back and forth through the cleared cobblestone paths of the marketplace, with the monastery/city walls to block the driving wind.

"You might be interested to hear that in two days we leave for Remire Village," she told him. Claude felt his eyes widen at the familiar name. That was the place where he had met her, back when he was chased by the bandits. She nodded, seeing his recognition. "The benefit to all of us is that you and I already know the lay of the land. That's the only thing we can say of any benefit in this situation."

"Why? What's going on?"

She hesitated, then said, "have you by any chance ever seen a cow that's eaten loco weed?"

He shuddered. "I'll do you one better. An enemy raider once fed it to my father's flock of wyverns. Lost their damn minds, destroyed everything in sight, and died in terrible agony."

She nodded solemnly. "Sounds about right. The Knights report that seems to be happening in Remire- only to the villagers. No sign that their foodstores have been tampered with, no sign of contagion- Manuela has narrowed it down to some form of black magic. Our task is to look for some trace of the mages in question and try to track them down."

"Shit, Teach!" Claude swore. "I know we've done some pretty astounding things for our age and skill level, but this sounds way out of our league! If these mages can do this to an entire village, what are they gonna do to us?"

"Claude, there's no one else to go," she stopped, turned, and took him by the shoulders, staring into his eyes. "I feel guilty that I'm not charging out the gate this second, that I'm leaving them to suffer for two more days, but you kids are wrung out and need time to recover."

"What about you?" He demanded. "You're pale, you're tired, you have rings under your eyes, and it's all over the monastery that you collapsed earlier this month!"

Teach stepped back, taken off guard.

"All the gods know you push yourself and stress out and never rest and take care of yourself. You call us kids, but you're only a couple of years older than us and we all want you to take care of yourself. Rest. Get better. Or you'll be collapsing more often."

"I was only a little dizzy," she muttered, sounding like Lysithea or Leonie for a brief moment.

"And what was with just taking off into the wild red yonder without telling anyone, just whoop, decided to go to Zanado one day!" Claude folded his arms across his chest.

She hesitated a long, long time. "Claude, I can't explain it. Not really. I foolishly thought I wouldn't be in any danger and went alone. I apologize for making you and the others worry. I thought...maybe if I poked around in some of those buildings I might... find something. The answer to some questions I've had. I can't explain any more without sounding weird or mystical, and I'm sorry." Her voice dropped and she muttered, "or maybe I am just going crazy." She winced.

"OK," Claude said flatly. "I'll accept that. For now. Just stop being so reckless."

He had grown this year, he realized suddenly. He could look her in the eye now. Something about that made him want to blush. He quickly changed the subject. "So. I'm a lord now. From what I can tell, that means nothing but that Lorenz resents me even more and it gives Hilda carte blanch to tease me mercilessly."

"Ah-ha!" Teach said, clearly amused. "At long last I know something about the monastery and church you don't!" She breathed deeply to savor the moment. "While anyone born into the proper bloodlines is a noble, the church reserves the title of 'lord' for those who specifically train for leadership positions. It is reserved for the house leaders. You are the only person in our class who could qualify. It's not a favoritism thing, if that's what you were worried about."

"Kinda. Yeah." He didn't mention that he was sick of being called 'teacher's pet' by the other houses. He was afraid of sounding like a wimp- or worse, that she would stop paying attention to him.

She gave her half-smile. "Go get some rest," she ordered. "I'll go easy on everyone tomorrow- stretches, light drills- and we'll set out early the day after."

"You rest, too," he demanded. She waved dismissively. As she walked away toward the entrance hall, he fantasized about rushing after her, kissing her passionately, and sweeping her off to make sure she got some rest by joining her...

"Get a grip, von Riegan," he muttered and went the other way around the pond to get back to his room.

It didn't improve his mood to find that his sheets were cold.

* * *

Despite her warnings about what they would find, he still wasn't expecting the sickening carnage he saw in the village of Remire. Everywhere the smell of blood and smoke, and roasted meat, the din of screams and mad laughter, pleas for help, the red glare of flames- every building was alight, makeshift spiked wooden barricades everywhere. Claude felt himself retch and clamped his jaws tightly shut.

"It's my fault. We should have come sooner," Teach whispered in a numb, unemotional-sounding voice. No time to argue with her, convince her it wasn't her fault. They needed to focus. They needed to find the monsters who did this and stop it.

_I have never heard of black magic on this scale._

As his classmates commented on the horror and how to stop it, Claude nudged Teach in the ribs. She looked at him, then at the sickened faces of his classmates. She drew her sword in one swift motion.

"Golden Deer- advance!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Intermediate:  
> Teach-> Thief  
> Claude-> Lord  
> Lysithea-> Mage  
> Marianne-> Priest  
> Raphael-> Brawler  
> Ignatz-> Archer  
> Hilda-> Brigand  
> Lorenz-> Dark Mage  
> Leonie-> Archer
> 
> Advanced:  
> Lysithea-> Warlock
> 
> Lysithea/Lorenz B  
> Teach/Lysithea B  
> Teach/Hilda B  
> Teach/Marianne B  
> Lorenz/Hilda C  
> Marianne/Lorenz C  
> Lysithea/Hilda B


	9. Chapter 9

All that Claude could concentrate on was the relief that none of them had been badly injured in the melee and all of them had made it safely back to the monastery. The coming ball was a welcome distraction. Even as solemn and subdued as the Golden Deer were as a while, the school's contagious spirit led to Teach canceling classes and shoving all of the tables to either side of the room to clear the floor for dance practice.

"Gah! I'm so clumsy!" Ignatz fretted.

"It's no different than footwork drills," Teach reassured them. "It's a set pattern that repeats. You all have wonderful balance from your weapons training this year- if you practice the pattern, you shouldn't lack confidence."

"This is a waste of my time," Felix muttered.

"There are plenty of martial styles that do use dance as their basis- the posture, the fact that the style is easily hidden, and the athletic grace that gives rise to endurance," Teach said. "And acquiring a few courtly arts keeps you from embarrassing your lord later."

Felix shrugged and left the classroom.

Lysithea and Lorenz made a comical pair due to the difference in their height. Similarly, Ignatz and Leonie were the ones who had the least experience in formal dance. Claude was actually having some fun as he practiced with Hilda- her enthusiasm made her more patient with his mistakes than he had thought she would be. Marianne was gently coaching Raphael step by step.

Teach now sat on the edge of her desk, having been abandoned by her partner. She let them practice until even Hilda was done.

"All right," Teach said. "It's time for us to choose our representative for the White Heron Cup."

"Oooh! We get to choose?" Hilda squealed. "Me, me! Please pick me!"

"I believe I am the natural candidate, with my noble bearing and natural talent. Of course, I also have the most experience," Lorenz boasted.

"I, umm... I vote for Hilda," Marianne said shyly.

"I believe our best candidate is Claude," Lysithea said. "He's the tallest and most graceful of all of us, and the winner gets to train as a dancer, yes? He's the best one of us with a sword."

"What?" Claude squawked. "Me? No way! Pick Hilda! She wants it!"

"You can pick a guy?" Raphael asked. "Yeah, my man Claude here is a really good dancer. He'll win for sure!"

"Claude is a very good choice to represent our class," Ignatz nodded. "I'm so glad no one chose me."

Teach glanced around the room. "Leonie? You're the tie-breaker. Hilda or Claude?"

Leonie thought for a moment. "Sorry, Hilda. I know you really wanted it, but Claude is already way better with a sword than you, and it is a sword class. Besides, he IS our house leader."

"Can I abdicate it to Hilda?" Claude asked plaintively.

"The people have spoken. Claude won it fair and square," Hilda pouted. "Oh, well. Thanks anyway, Marianne."

"And on that note, class dismissed," Teach said. "We'll return to our normal schedule after the first of the year." As everyone clattered out of the classroom, she called, "Don't slack off on your training during break!"

Claude leaned against the wall by the door. "Hey, Teach, did you forget? Dinner, my treat. You said we'd go down to that eatery together after our last day of classes."

"Your treat?" she blinked. "I don't recall agreeing to that."

"Well, you did now! Let's go, Teach!" He hurried her out of the classroom and down to the marketplace.

He had envisioned some dark wood-paneled, cozy quiet room, dimly lit, with their own table where they sipped wine and he charmed her with his wit. They got a large, well-lit common room with log tables like the ones in the dining hall. It was very popular and the room rang with a mixture of solstice carols and drinking songs, packed with townsmen and pilgrims.

At least the poached salmon was good.

As Claude sipped from his tankard, he realized he was glad it was this kind of place. If it had been the romantic ideal of his fantasies, he would have been too terrified to speak. Some of the Knights of Seiros dropped by the table to talk to Teach, and she made a point of introducing her student and house leader. _As if my uniform wasn't plain enough,_ he thought, but he was flattered by the attention.

After the plates had been collected, Claude finally found his courage again. "Hey, uh, Teach? This is why I wanted to take you to dinner. Happy birthday." He put the plain brown-wrapped package on the table between them. He realized his hand has shaking.

She picked it up and carefully folded back the paper. Inside lay the present he had been working on since his own birthday. It was a wide cuff, sized to her wrist- more slender and delicate than his own, more muscled than any of the girls in the class. He had whittled the wood himself, copying Ignatz's stag pattern.

"Just- just a memento of your Golden Deer for when we all scamper away. Ignatz designed it," he said, running his thumb under his birthday baldric from Hilda to show her. "I carved and polished it. I got the idea from Hilda. I guess it's from all of us."

"It's beautiful," she whispered and slid it onto her wrist. She looked at him, her expression indecipherable. "This is my first ever birthday present. Thank you, Claude."

"So are you" died unspoken on his lips at the last part. He blinked at her, his heart aching. Her first ever? What kind of parent was Jeralt?! He wished he had taken the stag to a goldsmith. He wished he had bought her earrings and a necklace to go with it, and flowers, and sweets, and...

"I'm glad you like it," he croaked and cleared his throat. "We... we all really appreciate what you do for us, even when we act like stupid, rude kids."

_So this is why she was so formal and nervous about our birthdays and 'getting it right'..._

She glanced down at her wrist and mumbled "thanks" again. He looked around frantically and jumped to his feet. "Hey! My favorite solstice carol! I didn't know you sang it in Fodlan!" He joined in with gusto, and after a moment or two, she raised her voice as well. By the time they left, he hoped she had forgotten how awkward and sentimental things had gotten.

* * *

They barely returned from an unexpected mission to the Rhodos Coast where some more apostate members of the Western Church had apparently attempted to steal some sacred artifacts of Cichol and Cethleann. Overseen by Seteth and with Flayn tagging along, they had killed the heretics and Seteth entrusted Teach with two of the church's artifacts: the lance once wielded by Cichol and Cethleann's sacred staff.

"Staves don't draw as much attention as magical weapons," Teach commented. "Thyrsus is an heirloom of the Gloucesters- I've been letting Lorenz do as he will with it. I think I'll lock these with the Sword of the Creator, but maybe Lysithea can make good use of the staff."

"But you think the spear will make one of us as big of a target as the Sword of the Creator, eh Teach?" Claude asked resigned. "Well, I'm no lancer- you want Leonie or Lorenz or Hilda for that."

"Some day, you're going to have to tell me why you want a relic so damn bad," she sighed, exasperated.

"BadLY," Claude corrected her with a grin. "Someday, maybe. Not just yet."

He left to go change into his uniform. It was time to perform in front of the entire school. He was not looking forward to it, despite Hilda and Teach's coaching. He just knew he was going to make a public fool of himself...

* * *

Back in the privacy of his own rooms, Claude had to admit there was something exhilarating about out-nobling the Fodlanese nobles, winning a prize for one of their art forms. Tomorrow night, the ball with himself as the prize for many beautiful young ladies. He stretched out on his bed, his hands behind his head. It wasn't bigheadedness- he had finally proven himself this year, and it felt good to be admired and popular. He was just going to revel in it for a few hours.

_Because when you graduate, it'll be right back to constantly having to prove yourself to your grandfather, the Gloucesters, and all those other stuck-up Fodlanese. And since you never can prove yourself to their satisfaction, you'll always be an outsider. Feh. Enjoy being young and good-looking for a couple more months, von Riegan. It will pass soon enough.  
Heh, they might even decide you're gay since you won a dance competition._

He sat up, admiring his gold and brown leather and armor. After a few more moments of contemplation, he grinned. There could be three lords in Garreg Mach in any given year, but only one dancer. Once he mastered the lord class, he would go down to the monastery tailors and be fitted for his dancer's robes, and to hell with anyone's views of his masculinity. He wondered if magic was hard to learn.

* * *

Claude's heart was singing. He had claimed Teach for the first dance and never been without a partner since. When the novelty of it all had worn off, he had escaped the crowd and the smells and the noise for the peace and quiet of the Goddess Tower, where he could look at the stars and eavesdrop on all the couples who came to make their wishes. He thought he had some interesting blackmail at the very least.

And then Teach had appeared, also looking to escape the heat and crowd. He had been flippant about it, but they had agreed to wish together for their ambitions to come true. He leaned against the balustrade and wondered what her 'hope' was.

"Claude?" her voice asked softly. He almost jumped out of his skin and turned to face her with his heart pounding. She held out her hand and smiled. "I'm about beat. If you wanted to claim the last dance, well, for me this is it."

Heart pounding, he took that outstretched hand and pulled her into his arms. Slowly, they danced to the distant strains of music, but then, emboldened, he added eighth and sixteenth steps until they were flying around the Goddess Tower as they waltzed, her skirt and hair flaring out, his side-braid whipping around his face. He closed his eyes, grinning and breathing her light scent and the smell of her hair, and he knew he would treasure this glorious moment for the rest of his life.

Because his Teach was laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Intermediate:  
> Teach-> Thief  
> Claude-> Lord  
> Lysithea-> Mage  
> Marianne-> Priest  
> Raphael-> Brawler  
> Ignatz-> Archer  
> Hilda-> Brigand  
> Lorenz-> Dark Mage  
> Leonie-> Archer
> 
> Advanced:  
> Lysithea-> Warlock


	10. Chapter 10

_Curse you, Goddess, she was laughing just last night!_ Claude's brain screamed. His hands clenched as he stood, his brown leather armor soaked, watching her sob into her father's chest in the sleet.

Jeralt was dead.

He felt like an intruder. Over the course of the year, he had seen her loose her temper, even seen her first true smile. He had watched as she had learned to relax her guard and trust people with her emotions. Just last night, he had waltzed with her and heard her laugh for the first time (well, her first time around them; surely not the first time in her life). Now, seeing her tears, it felt obscene.

"Come on," Alois rumbled softly to her, his own face streaming. "Let's get him inside. We'll put him in the chapel. He deserves better than to lie in the mud."

"I tried!" She sobbed, "I tried to save him and I called on the goddess and it still wasn't good enough!"

Alois put a hand on her shoulder and she shook it off. "I wasn't fast enough, I wasn't strong enough, this is all my fault!" Then she almost screamed as if arguing with someone who wasn't there "It wasn't fate! There's no such damn thing as fate! I control my life, dammit!"

She was scaring him.

His jaw was clenched as hard as his fists. Alone of the Golden Deer, he stepped forward to her. He knelt in the icy mud, wrapped an arm around her, and gently raised her to her feet. "We'll bury him beside her," he murmured. "He'll be with Sitri now."

"He didn't tell me about Sitri," she whispered the accusation and sagged with sudden exhaustion. He supported her and risked a glance at her face. The tears still flowed, but her expression was numb.

"Come on," he ordered. "You'll get sick if you stay out in this. Let me take you back."

The other Deer stepped back a pace or two as he turned her away and walked her toward her room. Behind him, Alois and Leonie lifted the dead Knight and began to slowly and ceremoniously carry him towards the cathedral. He looked down again. She was white-faced and her hands trembled.

Not many people were out in the sleet and he glared at the one or two who gave them strange looks. Gossip be damned right now.

He pushed open the door to her quarters and led her in. He spotted a towel and a loose blanket. "Get dried off and get warm," he told her gently.

"I used the Goddess's power and I couldn't save him." She whispered dully and turned away.

_The Goddess's power? What does that mean? Her crest?_

He turned to leave. As he pulled the door closed, he saw that she had dropped onto her bed, still fully dressed in her wet navy blue leathers. She faced the wall, her eyes no longer streaming. Just staring, her face the emotionless mask she had worn when she first arrived at the monastery.

Claude shuddered and left.

* * *

Claude held the large leather-bound journal as if it were the most precious thing in the world.He was reading the history of Teach backwards. He skimmed large sections of it, but, like Jeralt, he was shocked at how quickly Teach had changed in just the ten months they had been at the monastery. Most of his day-to-day life, a paragraph at a time, held no interest for Claude.

[I worry about her] was a recurring theme, along with [she is not a normal child]. It almost sounded as if Teach hadn't just been defensively masking her emotions her whole life- she hadn't felt until she arrived at the monastery.

_Or she was so miserable that even as a child she learned to hide her thoughts._

[My own kid would be about this girl's age,] Claude read. [Perhaps it's time I went and got her, began teaching my own kid the sword. I hoped she would have a normal life, but the letters I get say that she doesn't do anything except what is asked of her. Maybe I should have kept her with me the whole time, so that she had at least one parent growing up.]

Claude shook his head and flipped back a few more years. It seemed Teach had grown up living with a retired mercenary friend of Jeralt's, with her father sending cash from his jobs to pay for her upkeep until she was old enough to join him.

_Leonie even looks more like his daughter with that bright orange shock of hair,_ Claude reflected. But while all of this explained some things about Teach, it didn't tell Claude what he really wanted to know- what secrets the church was hiding about her.

Finally, he reached the year 1159. Backwards in history Claude went. Finding his old mentor and begging him to take 'the baby'. Running from and dodging the Knights of Seiros looking for him. Deserting the Knights. Using the fire to fake 'the baby's' death. Rhea always watching him and 'the baby'.

Claude's eyes about fell out of his head. [I had a doctor examine the child in secret. He says the pulse is normal, but the child has no heartbeat! No heartbeat!]

_No heartbeat? What does that mean? How can Teach have a pulse and no heartbeat?_

He kept reading. Even as a baby, she never cried or laughed. Sitri died in childbirth, supposedly begging Rhea to save her baby. Jeralt was away on a mission, didn't even find out until he returned more than nine months later. Begged Rhea not to send him because Sitri was so close to her time and she was sick.

[The only thorn in our happiness is that Rhea flat refuses to believe it. She declared it is impossible, that Sitri cannot be pregnant. When I ask Sitri, she waves it off as unimportant and says she 'wasn't healthy' as a child. "My mother is overprotective, love. You know that!" she laughs. Sitri won't talk about her sisters. She always gets very sad when I ask.]

This intriguing entry was all there was on the subject, picking back up with the white garlands they had woven for each other three days later.

Claude sat back to digest that. Rhea, who looked no older than maybe her thirties, was Teach's grandma. Sitri (and probably her sisters) was sickly. She died and Rhea saved the baby, who had no heartbeat. Magic? Was Teach being kept alive through some arcane ritual?

_Faith is the magic of light and life,_ Claude remembered one of Professor Manuela's seminars. _Through Faith, absolute miracles of healing and restoration can be brought about. In fact, practitioners of Faith are often healthier and longer-lived than other people- even if they only cast their spells on others. Now, while the church makes a study of all magic, only a few spells are commonly taught outside of the clergy because it is can be dangerous to experiment. The cost can also be life- the life of the user. This is why healers are so exhausted after only a couple of healing spells when they first begin-_

"Theory, but just a theory," Claude said out loud. "Sitri begs Rhea to save her baby. Rhea, the archbishop, knows Faith rituals kept hidden by the church. Like Nosferatu, they are fueled by the life of another. Rhea casts the spell- and transfers Sitri's life to Teach. Teach is kept alive, but only through magic. Sitri dies. No heartbeat."

_Theory- Nosferatu, second most common Faith spell taught: replaces the life of the healer, spent when using heal and physic._

Claude wondered with a shudder how long the ritual keeping Teach alive would last- the rest of Sitri's natural life? Did Teach get her crest from her grandmother? How old was Rhea, anyway?

Claude opened to the very first entry.

[They tell me that even with Lady Rhea's spell, I'm going to be lying here recovering for a while. I may as well start a journal- new job, new life, after all. My name is Jeralt Eisner, and I'm twenty-three years old. It is the twentieth day Harpstring Moon, 1097-]

Claude laid down the journal, his hands shaking. Jeralt had been one hundred and six years old when he had died.

* * *

Teach was grimly determined to go about her daily business despite her loss. The crushed an Adrestrian force in a practice battle. A few days after that, she pounded on Claude's door.

"Almyrans invading at the locket. Goneril has called for backup," she announced. Adrenaline had put life back into her eyes. "Mount up, let's go."

Once everyone was mustered, she had Claude and Hilda ride beside her to fill her in on terrain and tactics.

"This won't be a serious raid. I doubt they'll even have a true war leader," Claude assured them. "Especially this early in the season, it's young warriors filled with bravado and looking for cheap, easy victories to boost their reputation."

"My brother writes that at least two monsters have been spotted," Hilda said breathlessly.

Claude frowned. "Giant hawks are generally reserved for war parties with wyvern units, not raiders," he said. "That is odd."

Teach ordered them to hold the line and sent out Leonie, Lysithea, Marianne, and Ignatz as skirmishers to reinforce the Goneril troops caught in the pass. Perhaps made overbold by the fact that they had no serious injuries in several battles, Ignatz was cut down by an axeman as he concentrated on one of the hawks and Marianne by their wyvern-riding leader. Lysithea darted here and there, using her extreme magical range to her advantage and at last Leonie trapped the last of the Almyrans against the defensive line of the other Deer.

"You all need to watch your left!" Teach scolded as they crowded into the infirmary. This was the second time Ignatz had been wounded in the left leg, and Marianne's left arm was now bound in a sling.

"We're probably seeing more combat in this one year than we will in the entire rest of our lives," Hilda pointed out.

"I can only hope," Teach said quietly. "But if you all don't stop taking your enemies for granted now that you have some experience under your belts, this year will be the entire rest of your lives."

She turned and walked out.

"She's right, you know." Claude said into the silence. "We've all survived terrible things now, like Miklan turning into a giant monster and Remire Village and the peasants in Lonato's uprising. We're all getting careless because we think we can handle anything. Jeralt died because he didn't see one teenage girl as a threat."

They all sobered at that. Leonie glared at him.

"So, when we get back to the monastery, I'm going to find out one way or another what the Knights have learned about Tomas and that girl Monica who killed Jeralt and anyone else who might have had a hand in it. Because we are going to help our Teach get revenge."

Most of them now looked determined. Felix leaned against the wall, arms folded and eyes narrowed. Raphael looked a little skeptical and uncomfortable. Claude glanced at Ignatz and Marianne again and left the room. He wandered out and found a perch on the stone wall looking down into the pass where a burial detail worked to remove the dead Almyrans, hawks, horses, and wyverns.

He realized this was the second month in a row he hadn't had a "strategy walk and talk" with Teach. The thought made him rather lonely.

* * *

As Rhea walked away, Claude let out a deep breath he had been holding. Now was the time for an argument he had been dreading.

"Teach. You're not going to like this. Bring the Sword of the Creator."

Her eyes flashed in her already tense face. "I'm not going to swing around a holy artifact just to assuage that curiosity of yours!"

"This isn't about me, dammit!" He snapped, even though he had known she was going to take this badly. "I wouldn't ask something you didn't like this lightly. We don't know who those freaks are or what they're after, but we can guess. We know they can flawlessly mimic a person so that their closes associates are fooled, like Tomas. They cooked up that ritual in Remire, and now they're luring us out. They want you, Teach. Bring the one thing that will keep them from having you."

"How do we know we're not just handing them what they want that way?" She asked. He was relieved she was thinking and not just reacting.

"We don't. But I'd rather you had it and didn't use it than need it and not have it."

"I am more than capable of taking care of myself without it," she snarled.

"Like Jeralt was?" He asked cruelly. "I saw some monstrously deformed dark mage appear out of nowhere and block you with a magic shield while that Monica twisted a dagger in his kidneys. I'd rather that no be you, Teach. Have it and don't use it, but have it."

Her hands clenched into fists. "Be glad you're my student, von Riegan. You just went too far."

She turned on her heel and stalked away.

_Oh, good gods damned, I just blew it..._

Despite the fact that she ignored his presence, he was relieved when the Golden Deer mustered in the Entrance Hall an hour later: the red-glowing relic rode on her hip. Her face white and emotionless, she drew her other, work-worn silver-fitted blade. "Golden Deer- move out!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Intermediate:  
> Teach-> Thief  
> Claude-> Lord  
> Lysithea-> Mage  
> Marianne-> Priest  
> Raphael-> Brawler  
> Ignatz-> Archer  
> Hilda-> Brigand  
> Lorenz-> Dark Mage  
> Leonie-> Archer
> 
> Advanced:  
> Lysithea-> Warlock
> 
> Teach/Leonie B  
> Lorenz/Ignatz B  
> Raphael/Marianne B  
> Ignatz/Lysithea B  
> Lysithea/Felix B  
> Claude/Teach B+  
> Lorenz/Leonie B  
> Claude/Raphael B  
> Claude/Ignatz B  
> Raphael/Lysithea B  
> Ignatz/Leonie B  
> Lysithea/Leonie B  
> Hilda/Leonie B


	11. Chapter 11

"Hilda!" Claude shouted, his voice scattering what few birds had returned to the trees after that freaky dark spell. "HILDA!"

"Oh my gosh, what?" She snapped as she stomped over. "I'm tired, I'm sore, I'm out of concoctions, what?"

"She's more tired than you are," he indicated the vastly-changed Teach, who lay unconscious at his feet. "Help me carry her back."

"Get a guy to help," she whined.

"Who? Lorenz? Ignatz?" he asked. Raphael was already carrying Marianne, who bore burns from a demonic beast attack. Her arm was still in the sling from the beginning of the month.

"Ugh, fine!" She snapped and hoisted Teach up piggy back. Despite her complaining, she didn't even pause when she passed Felix and carried Teach the whole way back by herself.

Claude wound up being the one to report on the mission's success to Rhea, although it had to take much longer than any other report to explain the absolute weird and arcane things that had happened out there. He wasn't sure if he was saying too much and faltered when he saw the eagerness on her face when he described how Teach had used the Sword of the Creator and emerged from the rift in the sky so changed.

_The way she looks now, with that green hair and green eyes, she actually does look related to Rhea..._

"What happened then?" Rhea demanded, her usual serenity shattered.

"Uh, well, we defeated the rest of the enemy forces by splitting into two groups and sweeping northward. Teach cut down their leader, who mentioned someone called Thales. Then, I guess she was all worn out from what happened when that dark spell hit her, because she collapsed. I checked on her- she seems to just be sleeping."

Claude absolutely decided it wasn't the time to say 'yeah, she said she's been talking to the goddess all year and now the goddess gave her all her divine power'. He still wasn't sure how much of Teach's story to buy.

"I must go and check on her. Thank you, Master von Riegan. You are dismissed."

"Hey, I'd kind of like to see how Teach is doing myself," Claude said. "May I join you?"

"No, thank you. I would like to see her alone. Seteth, I am quite sure Master von Riegan is quite tired. Perhaps you can see that he gets safely back to his quarters."

Claude planted his feet, hands on his hips, and opened his mouth to argue. Seteth placed a firm hand on Claude's shoulder.

"Of course, Archbishop," Seteth agreed and squeezed, firmly but not roughly.

_Pick your battles, von Riegan. Rhea probably won't do anything to hurt Teach..._

He relaxed and let Seteth lead him from the room. Half an hour later, he snuck back and poked his head into the infirmary.

Teach was gone.

Panicked, he tore down the hall and peeked into the throne room. Rhea wasn't there. He thundered down the stairs and across the courtyard, around the edge of the building... and bounced off Teach's locked door.

_Not here either! Dammit!_

He ran down the wide, grassy path, asking everyone he passed if they had seen Teach or Professor Manuela. Finally, Raphael pointed towards the greenhouses.

"Sure, I saw Pro-"

Claude was already running again. He knew Teach spent some time there on most free days. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe Teach had just napped it off and was already up and about.

Manuela looked up as Claude crashed in.

"Mercy me, whatever is your problem?"

"Where is Teach?" Claude demanded. "She's not in the infirmary."

"I told Lady Rhea that she was in no danger, she's just fatigued, especially since she already doesn't let herself get enough sleep, but Lady Rhea insisted that the Professor be moved to her rooms, that she wanted to help with the nursing." Manuela shrugged. "Between you and me, Lady Rhea often takes a hand in nursing the clergy and the Knights of Seiros. I think she just gets these motherly urges, you know? And I totally get that. I, too, wish I had children of my own, but I just get it all out by taking care of all of you..."

Claude closed his eyes and breathed deeply, searching for his usual nonchalant air.

"Now, honestly, Claude, what happened out there? The Professor looks so different! I mean, she's always been a good-looking girl, but it is quite a change!" Manuela's voice dropped to the gossip register.

"I don't know," he replied. "You'll have to ask the goddess." He shrugged and left to go do something useful, like fire some arrows at the targets. He wasn't doing anyone any good anyway.

* * *

Teach came back to class and seemed her usual stern, disciplinarian self. Everything seemed normal again, except that Claude kept getting caught off guard by her unnerving green gaze when he expected to see deep blue. The Sword of the Creator was locked safely back in Golden Deer's weapon storage. By unspoken agreement, neither Claude nor Teach discussed their argument. Claude was stone-out of ideas on where or how to research this Thales.

It came around to Hilda's birthday. With mischievous intent, Claude pounded on her door bright and early. He heard a grumble from inside. He pounded harder. A louder complaint proved that no matter how inarticulate the words, she was at least awake now. He knocked a third time.

Hilda flung the door open, wrapped in a robe over her nightgown, and began hitting him around the head and shoulders with her slipper.

"Ow, ow, hey, is this any way to treat a guy who brings you a present on your birthday?" he demanded, trying to block with his arms.

"My. Birthday. Doesn't. Start. 'Til. Noon!" She punctuated every word with a blow. "I was fully intending to sleep in and enjoy myself today!"

"Then I've saved you from getting a lecture and extra laps on your birthday! You should be thanking me!" he protested.

"Ooh! You are so annoying, Claude von Riegan!" She growled and hit him again. "Go. Away!" She slammed her door.

"Guess you don't want this and I should just take it back to the merchant then," he called.

She yanked open the door, snatched the package from his hand, and slammed the door again. He waited until he heard the rustle of the brown paper and her ecstatic squeal. He turned to leave with a big grin and noticed he had a bit of an audience- every noble on the second floor. He shrugged and walked off to be the first into the dining hall. He sure hoped there were some good pastries this morning.

Behind him, the whispers began. "von Riegan and Goneril?" raced up and down the hallway. He hadn't even picked it out himself. He'd asked the merchant what Hilda had been eyeing in a "best friend but not boyfriend" budget. The result? A charm bracelet with three charms on it to start her off- a little doe, a flower, and a mountain.

_But hey! If I had to pick between Hilda and Marianne like Teach advised, at least being married to Hilda would be a whole lot of fun!_

* * *

"Heya, Teach," he called, poking his head into the classroom after dinner later that week.

"Heya, Claude," she answered, already reaching to pinch out the candle as she came around the desk to meet him. He waited while she pulled a cloak over her deep blue dress (it didn't match her coloring anymore) and stepped into her fur-lined boots. They walked until they found an area where no one else was: the tiny monastery graveyard where both of her parents now lay.

"Did you find anything out about this ceremony we're supposed to do?" she asked in a low voice.

"Nada. It's, umm, apparently not standard, but then how often does the Fodlan goddess just say, 'here's my power, later gater' to someone? You, me, and Rhea might just be making this so-called ritual up as we go. Nothing on this Thales guy either." Claude shook his head. "I don't even know where this ceremony is going to take place. Cathedral? Rhea's throne room? Goddess tower?"

"So we're at a dead end as far as planning goes," Teach said. "Dammit, I hate going to things like this blind."

"Hey, it's supposed to be a nice little religious ceremony, have some face time with the goddess, get blessed or whatever, and go back about our daily lives." He saw the incredulity on her face. "Yeah, except as Hilda pointed out, the goddess already talked to you when she gave you the power. What else is there to do? And Rhea certainly seems to think something earth-shattering is going to happen. I dunno, Teach, this all seems fishy to me, too."

Her lips thinned for just a moment. "OK, then I'd say we plan for indoor conditions, flickering candles and torches like the Holy Mausoleum, and mages, like those dark mages during the Rite of Rebirth.

 _Or clergy and Faith users if things don't go Rhea's way?_ He thought. One glance at her green eyes told him she was thinking the same thing.

"Sounds like we have a plan, Teach," he said. "And while I am always thrilled to be in your radiant presence, I think I'm going to take my frozen self back to my lukewarm room." He paused. "All joking aside, I've missed this, y'know? I always learn so much from you."

"Thanks," she mumbled. He couldn't tell if her cheeks were pink from the cold or his praise. He ducked his head, pleased with himself.

"Anyway, later, Teach!" he called and trotted away.

_She's scared, but she won't admit it and she's trying not to show it, Claude thought. After all the weird stuff this year, I don't blame her._

Thinking about the fight in the mausoleum, he felt a sudden chill that had nothing to do with the winter air. He suddenly remembered the morning they had been trapped in the mausoleum by Alois. He had thought then it was a trick of the fluttering candles, but her eyes had turned the same strange shade of green they were now. He remembered her clutching her heart, the strange voice that spoke through her lips, her hand reaching for the sarcophagus in which, unknown to both of them, the Sword of the Creator lay...

_Oh, all you gods above, she doesn't even know about that!_

He remembered their chat about fate and gods the month before after Jeralt's death, remembered her disavowal of fate then and over his corpse, but in her sleep, her hand had reached for that relic without even knowing it was there...

_And it saved her life! If she hadn't had it, she wouldn't have been able to cut a hole in the sky and come back to me! I owe that red-glowing monstrosity!_

"I'm not going to let anything touch her during this ceremony!" He swore aloud. "Not some creepy black mage, not Rhea, not even some body-possessing goddess! Nothing is going to harm my Teach while I have breath in my body!"

_While I have breath in my body..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Intermediate:  
> Teach-> Thief  
> Claude-> Lord  
> Lysithea-> Mage  
> Marianne-> Priest  
> Ignatz-> Archer  
> Hilda-> Brigand  
> Lorenz-> Dark Mage  
> Leonie-> Archer
> 
> Advanced:  
> Lysithea-> Warlock  
> Raphael-> Grappler
> 
> Alois/Teach C  
> Catherine Teach/C


	12. Chapter 12

_She did it. She actually went and did it..._ Claude was in a state of shock. Edelgard, snooty little princess, was behind the attack on Flayn, the death of Teach's dad, the insane slaughter of the peasants at Remire village, the attempted desecration of Seiros's tomb, and now she had attacked Teach during the so-called ceremony and managed to steal three crest stones before Hilda had injured her and driven her off.

None of the Deer had been wounded, but that was cold comfort. Claude eavesdropped like a madman, convinced their lives now rested on it. He was sore from constantly contorting himself into weird positions to fit himself into tiny nooks to hear better without being caught.

Edelgard had deposed her father and crowned herself Emperor of Adrestria. She was now whipping the army into a frenzy over the wealth and 'corruption' of the church. Claude privately suspected the opportunity to loot Garreg Mach had a lot to do with the army's newfound indignation at the wealth of the church.

_It's not like they're exactly champing at the bit to loot Enbarr- the richest city in Fodlan- now is it?_

And now she was calling on the nobles of the Alliance and Faerghus to declare whether they were 'for' or 'against' her.

_What does it matter? Your target is the church. Who cares what the nobles think on the other side of the continent? By the time you reduce this place to rubble and left, they would, oh, still be mobilizing. Unless the monies of the rest of Fodlan or forcing people in the Alliance or the Kingdom to choose sides, thus spreading civil war across the entire continent is your real goal. If so, good start and well-played. I did, you know, catch that part about the church dividing the Empire to make the masses bicker among themselves. Which they were not doing before and are now._

Claude wished he could wash his hands of the whole mess and go home to Almyra. Unfortunately, his mother had made it very clear that he was now her father's heir and she expected absolute obedience from him.

_The same obedience you showed when you ran away from home to marry father?_

Teach was arguing vociferously that the students needed to be evacuated ASAP before the Adrestrian armies arrived. To Claude's surprise, Rhea objected that there was not enough manpower to spare to escort each student back to their homes. Seteth provided the compromise.

"Let the students who volunteer stay and fight. We are doing our best to evacuate the town. The students who wish to leave can perhaps stay with one of the evacuating families until the fighting is over."

"Do you think there won't be atrocities?" Teach demanded. "That arrogant little wench ordered her men to kill any of her fellow students who resisted. She is willing to desecrate graves to steal more crest stones for their experiments- which include turning humans into mindless killing machines and demonic beasts, recall. She will accuse anyone who stays to fight of being 'in league' with the church and 'execute them for treason'. Oh, and then attack their villages and family's holdings as punishment. I doubt the Imperial soldiers under such circumstances are going to be restrained about looting and rapine."

"We must trust in the compassion and protection of the goddess," Rhea intoned.

Teach gave her a long, steady look, then turned and walked from the throne room. As she walked past Claude's niche, she reached out and snagged his wrist, yanking him along with her. It took him a couple of strides to find his footing.

"Staying or leaving?" She asked bluntly.

"Staying, Teach. We all are. Even Marianne. Even Hilda."

She let go of his wrist and turned to face him. She stared at him solemnly for a moment (he missed her dark blue eyes!), but whatever she saw there must have convinced her. She nodded and turned to walk again. Her stride was still brisk, but no longer quite as furious.

"Walk with me," she ordered and he knew where they were going.

She led him up to the curtain wall and they stood overlooking the bustling market. People scattered like frenzied ants as they tried to evacuate. Some arguments were breaking out between stressed, angry shopkeepers. Teach watched the chaos with sadness, then turned her attention back to Claude.

"How would you attack this place if you were Edelgard?" she asked.

"The princess- emperor now, I guess- and I have very different styles," he pointed out. "Me? From above. Lots of wyverns. After I'd infiltrated the place and weakened the garrison and the defenses. Which I guess she already did that part. Dammit."

Teach said nothing.

"So, well, the Imperial army seems to be largely infantry and those black-masked dark mages of hers. I think the only cavalry we'll have to face is that Death Knight of hers."

"And how do we defend against that?" she asked intently.

"We don't," he said flatly. "They're going to march right up that nice broad avenue. They're going to send small detachments up those sides. The walls are in such poor condition they couldn't keep Ignatz out if he really wanted in. They'll come down in a stiff breeze. And we have to assume at least three demonic beasts because of those stolen crest stones if not more. We're sunk."

"I'm glad you realize that." She was just as matter-of-fact about their coming destruction as he was. "And you still want to stay?"

"Yes." He answered firmly.

"Well, we'll still have whatever Knights of Seiros are still here." Teach said. "Half the class- probably including you, Claude- are going to hold the line right here. Keep them from getting past these steps. I'm going to send skirmishers up either side to reunite with me in the middle. I'm going straight down the middle of that wide avenue. If anyone can do it, it will be me. I'm the only one with any experience in urban warfare. I'll play to Her Majesty's pride and see what I can do to finish her."

Claude's heart ran cold, but he knew he wouldn't be able to dissuade her, even though the word 'suicidal' played around his lips.

"I'll have the Sword of the Creator," she assured him. "You seem to think that weapon can pull off miracles."

"You pull off miracles," he told her. "That weapon is only a tool in your hands."

"I'm glad you finally realize that, Claude. No weapon is anything more than a tool," she answered seriously.

"So that part where Rhea said you were her successor?" Claude prompted.

"Immaterial." Teach said it so firmly Claude almost felt she would really lose her temper with him if he pushed any harder. He bit his lip hard.

"Just... make sure you get some sleep between now and then Teach." he pleaded. "And, uh, there will always be a place for you in von Riegan territory, no matter what happens here."

She turned to face him again with that inscrutable gaze of hers.

"So." He shifted his weight, then flashed her his widest, most confident grin. "I'll let you get back to it! Later, Teach!"

Very softly as he walked away, he heard her whisper "Later, Claude."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Intermediate:  
> Teach-> Thief  
> Claude-> Lord  
> Lysithea-> Mage  
> Marianne-> Priest  
> Ignatz-> Archer  
> Hilda-> Brigand  
> Lorenz-> Dark Mage  
> Leonie-> Archer
> 
> Advanced:  
> Lysithea-> Warlock  
> Raphael-> Grappler
> 
> Raphael/Leonie B  
> Ignatz/Marianne B  
> Lysithea/Marianne B


	13. Chapter 13

The Adrestrian Empire's attack was as brutal as Teach had anticipated.

As she had outlined, she sent Hilda, Raphael, and Ignatz down the left side of the alleys around the main boulevard. Lorenz and Marianne were sent to the right, while Teach charged straight ahead, leaving Leonie on a ballista and Felix, Lysithea, and Claude to guard the stairs.

Claude had a good view of the battle from up there. Too good of a view.

A winged monstrous beast flew over the walls. Lorenz and Marianne weakened it significantly, but it seriously wounded both of them. A group of the Knights piled on it and brought it down. Claude shuddered and pulled his eyes away.

Leonie and her ballista provided good cover for the three making their way south on the eastern side. Hilda was chopping her way through the infantry, with support from Raphael and Ignatz sniping from behind. Professor Manuela was there, offering the occasional healing spell from a distance. His heart leaped into his throat as they approached the Death Knight.

His friends had come a long way from the beginning of the year. Claude was slightly distracted by one of those feelings of disorientation he had felt a few times that year, but he saw Hilda lead a battalion charge, pinning the Death Knight in place. Raphael jumped him, but it was one of Ignatz's arrows that drove him to retreat.

His main attention, however, was always on the single figure making her way down the main boulevard, her favorite silver-fitted sword in hand. It flickered like a brand from side to side as she weaved and side-stepped through Edelgard's army, leaving death in her wake. He watched her cut down a sword-wielding commander and wyvern-mounted general with ease.

And then at a signal from their Emperor, the entire royal retinue ran forward at once.

Teach was laying about, but an axeman cut at her from the right and a mage scorched her from a distance. She cut them down and stood panting as Edelgard made her slow advance forward-

-Teach brought up her sword, cutting deeply into Edelgard's armor. Almost contemptuously, Edelgard brought her massive axe down through Teach's body.

Claude opened his mouth to scream as the worst dizzy spell yet swamped him.

-stood panting as Edelgard made her slow advance forward. She tore the top off a vulnerary and chugged it. Edelgard said something to her, and then a battalion charged out of hiding and ran Teach down.

The wave of dizziness forced Claude to his knees.

"Claude, are you all right?" Lysithea demanded.

"Fainting in battle when you're nowhere near the carnage? Pathetic." Felix spat. Claude ignored him.

"Lysithea, I need you to get me down there," he ordered, climbing back to his feet.

"The Professor said we-"

"Just do it!" Claude insisted.

Clearly, Lysithea decided that he would be the one with his butt in the fire for disobeying orders. The world blurred around him with a rushing sound and he found himself at the foot of the stairs. He sprinted down the avenue towards her, but he could see he wasn't going to make it in time.

"Teach!" he shouted as he raced toward her. "Look out!"

She spun to face him and he had the sickening thought that he would cause her death. Even as he faltered, she spun to meet Edelgard, ducking low. Her silver-fitted sword sheared upwards through the blood-red armor. Edelgard fell back white-faced and gasping with pain. Just as suddenly, Hubert was there, catching her before she hit the ground.

"Send the signal to my uncle," she ordered in a faltering voice.

"As you wish," Hubert answered smoothly and the two of them disappeared.

Claude ran up to his Teach, who was panting with her hand pressed to her bleeding side, her face and chest red from her magical burns. He yanked the top off his vulnerary and pressed it to her lips. She gulped eagerly, then pushed it away as a few precious drops ran down her chin.

"Claude," she said in a quiet, dreadful voice, looking past him. "Get your classmates to safety. I'm putting you in charge of their lives."

He followed her gaze and felt himself go cold. Pouring up the mountain switchback four abreast were more soldiers than Claude knew the Adrestrian Empire had,

"What about you?" He demanded.

"You have the Golden Deer to look after; I have the rest of the monastery. Go." She ordered.

He gazed at her a long moment, drinking in her fierce determination, the fire in her green eyes, her calloused hands clutching her sword grip so hard her knuckles were white.

"Five years, Teach," he found himself saying. "If we don't meet before then, I'll see you at the Millennium Festival."

Her eyes registered recognition of the class's promise and she nodded once, tightly. She turned and strode quickly back towards the stone stairs where they had left Rhea.

He rounded up Raphael, Lorenz, Hilda, and Leonie who were nearby. "Leonie, I'm going to need you to start saddling horses. Make sure you get Dorte for Marianne. Hilda, go get Lysithea and Felix and bring them to the stables as fast as you can. Raphael and Ignatz, Marianne and Lorenz are injured. Help me get them to the stables."

"But- we can't just leave!" Leonie protested.

"Teach's orders. We retreat." Claude said. "We need to get home safely to warn the people we care about."

"Where is the Professor now?" Ignatz asked quietly.

"Yeah, why isn't she with you?" Hilda asked.

"With the Knights," Claude answered. "She's covering our escape."

She hadn't had to tell him. He knew.

"Don't let anyone stop you," he continued. "Don't let anyone argue. Don't try to go back to your rooms to get things. For the sake of the Alliance, we have to live. Go."

He turned and ran towards the last place he had seen Lorenz and Marianne, Ignatz and Raphael right on his heels. A helpful Knight had dragged them to a semi-sheltered nook against the wall. Adrestrian soldiers were pouring down the boulevard. Marianne had stabilized the two of them, but they were still weak and fatigued. Ignatz supported the priestess while Raphael lifted the dark mage. Claude covered their retreat. Step by step they withdrew.

Claude found himself fighting side-by-side with Dimitri as they pulled back. A horrifying shriek from overhead drew his gaze skyward. An enormous white dragon- true dragon, not wyvern- soared overhead and dropped right in the middle of the Adrestrian army. Claude swore in amazement, then turned his attention back to the pikemen rushing up on his left. They had almost made it to the stables when a harsh, loud, and yet oddly feminine voice reverberated over the battlefield.

"Why have you come?"

Claude turned and looked just as one of the dark mages, robed like Solon, gathered dark energy in his hands. He shot it, not at the immense white dragon that crouched on the cliffside, but at the small figure in tattered blue leather beside it. She raised her arms, resisted- and was slowly shoved backwards off the cliff. She flailed as she was flung into the abyss and her scream of terror mingled strangely with the roar of the dragon and a harsh, wild voice screaming her name-

"LARISHKA!"

* * *

A hand slapped him sharply across the face. Claude, mind almost blank, his throat raw, turned to face Lorenz.

"Fall apart later, von Riegan! We have to get out of her now!" The nobleman snapped in his face.

"Larishka! Larishka is..." Claude couldn't bring himself to say the final word.

"She is just one soldier!" Lorenz said sharply. "You have a duty to the rest of your command. Act like the house leader you are."

Claude pulled himself up, ready to answer back- and saw the entire Golden Deer house, some mounted and some standing, staring at him with various expressions of mingled fear, confusion, and loss. Hilda's eyes slowly filled with tears.

"You there! These horses belong to the Knights of Seiros!" an officious clergyman shouted. "You can't steal them!"

"We were ordered to retreat," Claude said, his voice raw and torn.

"Thieves!" The priest seized Marianne and pulled her roughly from Dorte's back. Without thought, Claude brought his fist back and struck the man with the pommel of his sword. He helped the injured girl to her feet and boosted her back into Dorte's saddle.

"Will the foal follow its mother through all that?" He asked her.

"I- I think so," Marianne said, shaken.

"Good. I'm afraid if we tie him, he'll just lose his footing and be dragged." Claude walked to the horse Leonie held for him. "Everyone, mount up," he ordered, as he did so himself. There was a general scramble. The sounds of battle were approaching them now.

"Leonie, Lorenz, and Hilda to the front. Marianne, right flank," he named his classmates with the best polearm skills. Leonie looked grim, Lorenz winced with pain, Marianne was scared, and Hilda surprisingly resolute. "Couch your lances."

Four lances tucked under their arms, set for a cavalry charge. Claude drew his sword and heard Felix and Ignatz copy him. Raphael hefted his axe. From the corner of his eye, Claude saw Lysithea raise her hands, already sparkling with dark magic. He drew in a deep breath, banished the tears from his eyes, and ordered as she had so many times before:

"Golden Deer- advance!"

* * *

The territory of Count Gloucester was the closest and the Deer made for the bridge of Myrddin with all speed. It wasn't until they were pulling up in the courtyard of Gloucester Castle that Claude thought to consider what sort of welcome they were likely to get.

A servant had been sent inside with the news of the young master's return. A large, overweight woman rushed out and embraced Lorenz tightly as he slid exhausted from his saddle.

"Oh, my baby!" She sobbed. "Look at you! Covered in burns! Oh, my poor Lorenz!"

"Mother, please," he said, embarrassed. "Let us speak inside. I would see to the comfort of my...friends."

 _Don't force yourself to say it,_ Claude thought, annoyed.

Lorenz's father had emerged and was gallantly handing Marianne, Hilda, and Lysithea down from their saddles. "-most welcome, ladies. I hope the ordeal wasn't too terrible for you. If my son had-"

He completely ignored Claude and the commoners. Claude rode his horse three steps over and cleared his throat loudly. Still mounted, he looked down at Count Gloucester.

"Hello. I don't believe we've been introduced. My name is Claude von Riegan. I'm the one who took charge at Garreg Mach and saved your son's life."

Lorenz's face darkened, but he didn't contradict his house leader.

"This is Felix Fraldarius, heir to the Fraldarius dukedom. Ignatz Victor, Raphael Kirsten, and Leonie Pinelli, all also comrades to Lorenz and guests of your house."

The rebuke in his voice was crystal clear. Count Gloucester flushed beet red, and Lady Gloucester laid her hand on his arm even as he opened his mouth.

"Yes, all of you children are quite welcome in our home. Please- eat, rest, and recover from your injuries."

"Thank you, madam," Felix said coldly, also still mounted, "but I am a sole son and my father will need me. If I could trouble you for a few provisions, I'll be on my way."

"My dad needs me too, but thanks a lot, ma'am," Leonie said awkwardly. Raphael silently shuffled his feet.

"The rest of us will gladly accept your kind offers of hospitality," Claude said, managing to keep the irony out of his voice. He finally dismounted. As they all walked into the castle, he heard Count Gloucester saying,

"And why are you wearing that ridiculous mage robe? I took you out of that mage school and sent you to the officer's academy so that you would learn something practical about becoming a ruler of men!"

* * *

That was only the first of several power plays over the next few days. True to his word, Felix, Leonie, and Raphael left immediately. Lysithea accepted the offer to remain their guest at present, and Claude smelled trouble- both Gloucester and Ordelia were known for their sympathies to the Empire. Ignatz accepted Lorenz's offer and became one of his retainers- which meant for the moment he was his classmate's batman. Margrave Edmund was the first noble to send an escort for his daughter, and she took a solemn farewell of Hilda, who cried copiously and promised to return Marianne's letters. Holst himself arrived next at the head of a troop of soldiers and fussed over his baby sister. He wrung Claude and Lorenz's hands and thanked them profusely for looking after her, while Hilda rolled her eyes. She flung her arms around them in turn. Holst's eyes narrowed in either brotherly hostility or speculation, and Claude didn't want to find out which. Her tears dried quickly in chattering away nonstop to her brother as they rode out.

It was the last he would see of any of his friends for five years.

* * *

Claude, for lack of anything else to do, was in the Gloucester's abandoned training ground, shooting off quivers of arrows when he heard a woman's quick booted step behind him. He turned with his heart in his throat, then sagged as Judith marched firmly into the salle.

"Oh. Hi." He said and cleared his still slightly sore throat.

"Well, that's a hell of a greeting, boy," Judith said in a voice that was almost a growl.

"Sorry," he muttered. He always felt like a little kid around her. "I've been through a lot recently."

"I heard," she said, and, impossibly, he heard something like compassion in her voice.

"Yeah, OK, let's go," he said. "I'll write some bullshit polite letter to Lorenz's dad later thanking him for the favor whatever. I'm not up to it right now."

"Sounds good to me, boy," Judith said. "I don't particularly feel up to making fake-nice with Gloucester either."

"Don't call me 'boy'," he answered automatically, but his heart wasn't in the snipe. "So why does House Daphnel have babysitting duty instead of some Riegan escort?"

"I thought you were smarter than that," she chided. "Do I have to be your tutor as well as your babysitter?"

Claude scowled, then actually thought about his own question. "Because a von Riegan force might antagonize the Gloucesters?" he offered as they walked towards the stable.

"And?" Judith prompted.

"It's another excuse for House Daphnel to visibly show their support for Riegan, or so my grandfather thinks," Claude snorted.

It was Judith's turn to scowl. "And?" She demanded. Claude shrugged. "OK, try this one on for size- you're the only heir he's got, considering what happened to his son, so you need to have an escort that reflects your position without making it look like he fears for your safety. If he looks weak, it invites attack."

"Great. More threats to my life," Claude said with heavy irony. "Whatever will I do?"

"Get used to it kiddo. And if I were you, I'd shape up and be the model of a Fodlanese princeling because you can't afford to have even one public enemy, or the knives will be out and sharpened before you can say 'terrible misunderstanding'."

Claude stopped and stared at her for a long moment, then sighed and went to take a proper leave of Count and Lady Gloucester.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is actually finished, I just need to type it up. Since I work full-time, the typing is what takes the longest. While I have you here, is anyone interested in a Crimson Flower fic along these lines?
> 
> Intermediate:  
> Teach-> Thief  
> Claude-> Lord  
> Lysithea-> Mage  
> Marianne-> Priest  
> Ignatz-> Archer  
> Hilda-> Brigand  
> Lorenz-> Dark Mage  
> Leonie-> Archer
> 
> Advanced:  
> Lysithea-> Warlock  
> Raphael-> Grappler


	14. Chapter 14

_-laughing as he whirled her through the steps of a waltz, her long green hair and flashing green eyes an odd contrast to her dark blue dress. She collapsed against him, breathing hard as the music ended. He kissed her passionately, until she pulled away gasping for breath. He dropped to his knees and pressed his lips to her belly button, exposed by her black midriff-baring shirt and corset. "There are warmer places in Fodlan than the Goddess Tower," he suggested against her bare skin. She gripped his hair in both hands and pulled him back. He looked up into her stern blue gaze and then her lips quirked in that almost-smile._

_"You get up here and kiss me properly again," she scolded and he stumbled to obey._

Claude rolled over, cursed his mind for choosing that moment to wake up, and fell back asleep again. He woke up the second time in a cold sweat, his mind once again screaming her name as she was pushed over the cliff. In his overactive imagination, he saw her hitting the ground, her spine breaking, her skull crushed on impact, the rocks raining down on her and completing the job, her broken body tossed around, birds going for the eyes, wolves for the rest...

 _Goddess dammit, enough von Riegan!_ He shouted at himself. _You're obsessed! One woman you met five years- six- years ago and knew for less than a whole year. Get over it!_

He growled and threw back the covers. His manservant was instantly there with a robe and began laying out Claude's clothes for the day. The Sovereign Duke rejected the hose and doublet, choosing padded, serviceable clothing in his favorite brown, broken by an elaborately dyed Almyran sash. The manservant allowed himself the luxury of a sniff as he continued to list Claude's commitments for the day. Claude only half listened as he splashed in his washbowl.

He stopped the litany as he toweled off his face. "What's the date?"

"Ethereal Moon twenty-second, sir."

Claude felt a pang. _The solstice. Her birthday..._ and remembered something else. _The Millennium Festival! Three days! I'll barely make it! That's why my brain was full of her..._

"Cancel all my appointments through the end of the year," Claude called over his shoulder, tying his cravat as he rushed from the room, "and order my wyvern saddled!" He jogged down the hall and down the back stairs, stepping aside for a chambermaid who tried to step aside for him and curtsy with her arms full of firewood. He ducked into a linen closet, grabbed a few blankets, and continued to the kitchen. Once again, everyone stopped working to curtsy or bow.

"Hey, I know it's last minute, but I have an urgent business trip. Can you pack me about a week's worth of travel rations? Nothing fancy." He asked his cook. "It'd be a huge help."

"I will see what I can do, Your Grace," the cook responded with another bow.

"Great! Thanks! Just send it out to the paddock, if you wouldn't mind." Claude said and left at a trot.

As always, 'order my wyvern saddled' translated as 'have the stable boy leave the tack on the paddock fence' since, like all wyverns, Claude's wyvern accepted no one but his rider and the few people his rider indicated were OK- in Claude's case, just Nader. What the house servants didn't know about Claude doing his own chores wouldn't hurt them. By the time the scullion appeared with the packed basket, Abráh was saddled, soothed, given treats, had his claws and wings checked, and was now restlessly shifting. Claude took the food with a word of thanks, tossed the girl a coin, and mounted, free at last from the minutia and on his way back to Garreg Mach.

* * *

Five years of warfare had left their mark. Claude hid Abráh in the trees and ordered him to behave, then approached on foot. In a small village at the foot of the mountain, he gathered the word. As he had feared, bandits and looters had moved into the monastery town and barracks. Superstition kept them away from the more sacred areas, but everywhere else had been ransacked.

Claude nodded solemnly, tipped well, and flew in under the cover of night. He left Abráh on one of the balconies and tiptoed silently through the empty cathedral, his heart catching at the destruction of the place he had been so happy. Noiselessly, he climbed the Goddess Tower and stood at the embrasure, figuring he could watch for any other Deer as stupid as he was from up there. Memories assailed him as he looked at the star in the wyvern's bridle. He could almost hear the waltz music and it was almost painful to not see a candle burning in the Golden Deer classroom.

He thought it was another phantom of his memories when he heard a woman's booted step on the stair. Another caused him to turn. It couldn't be any of 'the girls'. They wouldn't know to look for him here. And as the sun burst over the horizon, he knew that step and his face rearranged itself into a grin he hadn't worn since before she 'died'.

"Heya, Teach," he said, his heart in his throat.

She blinked, blinked again and surprise overspread her face with the recognition. 

"Heya, Claude," Larishka answered.

* * *

The moment was too intense. He had to break it. "You overslept! Pretty rude to keep a fella waiting like that, wouldn't you say?" he asked walking over to her. Her face was still wondering, and she slowly brought her hand up as if she were about to caress his cheek. She looked exactly as she had during that last battle, straight down to the torn blue thief leathers. He felt his cheeks growing warm. Then, just as he was about to blurt out something stupid, he realized she was soaking wet, her hair plastered to her head. She turned her hand and tugged on his beard, her face mischievous. 

"You couldn't be bothered to shave on a day as important as this?" she demanded. "What kind of an impression is this going to make on your old classmates, let alone an example for your officers and men?"

"Aw, come on, Teach, I like my beard!" he groaned.

"It's your face," she shrugged. He took her hand and led her to the embrasure, saying something that sounded trite and melodramatic to his own ears about a new dawn, but she was smiling, and he was still holding her hand in the bright sunlight and maybe it was a new dawn both for them and for Fodlan.

They walked down the stairs together and he whistled Abráh over.

"This is Larishka. She is flock. Do not eat." He said sternly in Almyran. Abráh growled and Claude pulled his bridle to force the wyvern to look at him. "No." Abráh jerked his head around for a moment more, then sighed and submitted.

"Now gently blow in his nostrils to teach him your scent," Claude instructed. 

Larishka obeyed. "To think the first time you used my name, it would be to tell your wyvern not to eat me."

"You speak Almyran?" he asked, stunned.

"No. Context clues," she answered.

He decided to let that pass. "Let's just go inside," he said and took the saddlebags from Abráh and unsaddled him. The wyvern followed them into the cathedral, where they shared a picnic breakfast on the shattered tile floor. Larishka, still soaked for whatever reason, wrapped up in the woolen army blankets he'd brought with him. She insisted she had spent the last five years 'sleeping' and recovering from that terrible fall. Finally, he stopped questioning her- he wasn't getting any answers anyway- and decided to pretend he believed her. He filled her in on the war against Edelgard, and all of the current Alliance politics that he was aware of. She listened with her usual intensity, asking all of the penetrating questions, and catching the situation very quickly.

_This isn't some ghost or dream or memory! It's actually her! She's alive and real and here!_

As they ate and talked, he studied her, then studied the ruined cathedral around them. This was what Edelgard said she wanted- the church broken, the Knights scattered, the people 'free'.

And yet... and yet, five years later the war dragged on, the monastery forgotten... and Larishka was alive.

_Rhea named her the successor of the church after the Goddess blessed her. You have her, she has the Sword of the Creator. If you can rebuild the church and rally the people around her, you'd have a powerful symbol in resisting a common enemy. Rebuild Fodlan first, the rest will follow._

As his eyes drifted, they came to rest on the Crest of Flames carved over the alter.

The smile that crossed his lips was very different from the carefree grin he always showed her.

"Hey, Teach. Let's go get some exercise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not creative when it comes to pet names. Claude's wyvern is just named 'Cloud'. Because white. And then I realized after typing it Claude and Cloud.
> 
> Intermediate:  
> Larishka-> Thief  
> Claude-> Lord  
> Lysithea-> Mage  
> Hilda-> Brigand  
> Lorenz-> Dark Mage  
> Leonie-> Archer
> 
> Advanced:  
> Lysithea-> Warlock  
> Raphael-> Grappler  
> Felix-> Swordmaster  
> Ignatz-> Sniper  
> Marianne-> Bishop
> 
> Larishka/Claude A  
> Claude/Lorenz B  
> Lorenz/Lysithea A  
> Marianne/Lorenz B  
> Hilda/Lorenz B  
> Raphael/Ignatz A  
> Marianne/Hilda A  
> Leonie/Felix A  
> Larishka/Ignatz A  
> Larishka/Raphael A  
> Larishka/Felix A  
> Claude/Lysithea B  
> Claude/Hilda B  
> Claude/Leonie B  
> Marianne/Leonie B


	15. Chapter 15

The bandits were concentrated around the remains of the castle town. They were going to have to fight building to building, ruined stall to pile of rubble. Claude estimated their numbers to be roughly twenty-two-to-one.

Fortunately, Larishka knew her urban tactics.

She slunk through the shadows like a cat, luring out the bandits one by one.

Claude, mounted on Abráh, simply dropped on them from the sky.

As he was swooping out of range, he saw something that filled him with glee: Lorenz and his retainer Ignatz arrived, took stock of the situation, and joined the fray. Then he saw Leonie, Hilda, and Felix arrive from the south and very soon Marianne, Lysithea, and Raphael dropped in on the northeastern side of the city.

All of them had remembered their promise to return for the Millennium Festival. Claude felt his eyes unexpectedly filling with tears and he banished them with a couple of loops and another pass at an axeman.

_Ha! So much for Larishka's 'maybe they don't like us'._

They herded the bandits to the center of town and surrounded them. Desperate, their leader pushed past Larishka and Raphael, running straight for Marianne. Her face determined, she raised her hands and blasted him with a blinding bolt of divine magic.

The rest surrendered at that point.

* * *

The reunion was long and filled with lots of exclamations of "look at you- you've changed so much!" and "Professor, I thought you were dead all this time!"

At long last they tapered off into silence.

"You know, our picnic lunches aren't going to last very long if we have to feed the entire Alliance army," Claude said casually. Everyone turned to look at him in surprise. "We're going to have to find a reliable supply chain if we intend to make this place our base."

"What do you mean?" Leonie asked.

"Oh, I get it," Hilda said. "Mr. Leader Man wants us to get serious about resisting Edelgard."

Lysithea and Lorenz, both of whose families were Imperial supports, looked at the ground.

"Exactly," Claude explained part of his thinking to them: "Garreg Mach is right in the center of Fodlan and the heart of the church. If we can get some help to repair and refortify it, we can rally Alliance Forces, the Kingdom 'rebels', and gather the scattered Knights of Seiros. Then we can actually be a threat to her rather than a bunch of scattered bushfires."

"Those 'bushfire rebellions' aren't going to be able to send you much support," Felix said. "Fraldarius lands are under siege and have been for some time. It's the same all over the Kingdom. I'm amazed I managed to sneak through with as many men as I did- but my father insisted I bring an 'escort' for my safety."

"Every man we can get is a precious resource," Larishka said. "And we are grateful."

 _Perfect,_ Claude thought. _Exactly the tone I need from a compassionate warrior Archbishop following in Seiros's footsteps._

"And if we're crashing around making lots of noise, it'll take some of the onus off Fraldarius and the other besieged Kingdom rebels," he added. Felix nodded.

"So first we need to get people to start coming back to help rebuild the monastery," Hilda said. "We won't do anyone any good if we just get crushed again."

"So we'll put out the word that Garreg Mach is taking in war refugees and other displaced persons and offer safety to workmen's families- and that farmers and workers can tithe to the church 'in kind' instead of in coin." Claude said and Larishka nodded.

"I'm in," Leonie said, followed closely by Raphael and Ignatz. After a moment, Lysithea firmly added her support.

"Give me time to think," Lorenz requested. "Our lands border the Empire and I cannot go against my father's wishes."

"By all means," Claude assured him. "In fact, it could be very helpful for us to still have some contacts with the Empire."

Lorenz grimaced his distaste.

"Just think about," Claude suggested and they began to separate.

* * *

His room had been ransacked, but he hadn't had much of value anyway. Some of his nicer clothes were gone, probably sold for scrap. His papers and books had been rifled through and then scattered on the floor. He dropped his saddlebags in a corner.

"Knock knock," Leonie called before he could get sentimental. He pulled open the door to find her standing with Lysithea, both of them loaded down with sheets and blankets.

"We found some that aren't too moth-eaten." Lysithea announced. "But we figured there was no way anyone would want to sleep on ones that old and nasty."

"Thanks guys- I should say, girls." Claude said and took part of the load. "Need any help with your deliveries?"

"No, I think we've got it," Leonie said and they backed up to continue down the hall.

By the time his room was liveable again, he was tired of being in it. He climbed all the way up the Goddess Tower and perched on the roof this time in silent communion with the stars. Somehow, he almost expected the firm booted step on the stairs.

"Over here," he called softly. Larishka came over to him, bundled up against the cold in her black coat. Dimly, he made out the blue skirt of her favorite dress below it.

"I saw you climbing up here from my room," she said, sitting next to him. "And you say I never sleep."

"Except when you do for five years," he kidded her.

"Yes..." she said, dragging the word out. "Claude, that fall should have killed me. And yet, I wake up to some peasant pulling me out of the river, it's five years later, and my Golden Deer are all grown up. I heard- I heard Sothis telling me to wake up, that my body was healed."

"Ah." Claude said, for lack of anything else to say.

"I... I'm not human," she said, and he felt her shiver. "Whatever Rhea did to me as a baby, whatever Sothis finished in the darkness... I'm not human. I don't know what I am. Some kind of monster."

"The war has made monsters of all of us," he said.

"No, I mean..." she cried, frustrated.

"Larishka." He turned and took her by the shoulders as she had his so long ago. "Whatever Rhea and Sothis did to you, it's not your fault. And we know Rhea is still alive- the Empire would have bragged and staged some sort of big display if she weren't, like when the Kingdom's regent was killed. So either they have her and are keeping her for some reason, or she escaped and is in hiding. And we're gonna find her and get our answers. Together."

She blinked rapidly, then gazed upward. "So what are you doing up here?" she asked, retreating from the moment.

"Stargazing," he answered. He smiled and told her about his love of stargazing, his childhood, and finally his dreams for the future. "And it's a future I want to see with you at my side," he finished, looking down at the lovely woman now leaning drowsily against his arm.

"Claude, I... don't know how to take that," she said.

"Exactly how it sounded," he answered.

She blinked those light green eyes. "Remember how we discussed your, umm, options once?" she asked dryly. "I'm not exactly on the short list of 'politically expedient matches for the von Riegan dukedom'."

"Larishka, forget that for a moment. I've been in love with you since I was seventeen years old. If we were both mercs in the same unit, would you tell me to take a hike?"

She studied him for several long moments while his heart pounded in his chest. "I would certainly go to bed with you," she answered bluntly. "As for love- well. I don't know. When I woke up this morning, you were my student and off the table, no matter how close we are. It's going to take some adjustment to you becoming, for me literally overnight, the great Golden Stag, a leader among men, and not one of the kids I'm supposed to be teaching."

"Golden Stag?" he thought he remembered that phrase from long ago.

She blushed. "Surely you know the effect you have on women," she muttered.

He smirked. "Hopefully, just one. I'm going to be persistent. If anyone's going to be seduced and taken advantage of, it won't be the impressionable young student."

"You're welcome to try," she snorted. She stood and stretched. "I'm going to bed. I guess in the morning I'll start drawing up duty rosters. Let's use the cardinals' chamber rather than the classroom and draw up some defense plans, supply charts, and start mapping this campaign. I want our allies to feel like advisors and equals; let's break up the lecture mentality at the outset."

"Sounds like you've already got a plan," he said approvingly. "But remember what Rhea said all those years ago- she left the church, especially Garreg Mach, under your care. Until we find her, you're acting Archbishop."

She paused. "So, should I dress the part? Do you want me to dig out that headdress and ecclesiastical robe I flat refused to wear to that failed revelation ceremony?"

"Yes," he said decisively. "Let's get people used to thinking of you that way, and then it'll be easier to get pro-church commitment from the forces we're hoping to recruit."

"If you say so," she said and yawned.

"Night, Larishka."

"Good night, Claude."

* * *

By the end of the second week, they were getting more or less used to the changes worked on each other by five years and the so-called Golden Alliance was starting to see refugees and the scattered Knights of Seiros pouring in. Claude unveiled their new war banner, the Crest of Flames worked in purple on a black background, courtesy of Ignatz.

One of the Knights had a report.

"The Empire knows you're here. They've detached a column to scout us out and eliminate us if we prove to be a threat."

The 'council of advisors'- the former Golden Deer- started babbling loudly among themselves. One low voice cut firmly through the din.

"Only a column?" Larishka asked, her voice derisive. She leaned forward on the table, standing with her weight resting on her knuckles. She looked exactly as she had in the classroom when she had leaned on her desk whenever the class became unruly. From habit, the noise quieted. "Then their commander underestimates us. When will they be here, Lieutenant?"

"They are two days behind me, Your Beatitude."

"Excellent- we have two whole days to prepare. Thank you, Lieutenant."

He saluted and left the room. Her face remained impassive.

"Excuse me, Professor," Lorenz said, his face pinched. "Did you say he underestimates us?"

"And is not the noble heir to Count Gloucester a match for a fifth of a column by himself?" she asked, her voice gently mocking. "We've all been training, we're all experienced, we have our own trained battalions, and we know the battlefield."

"I expected our repair of the walls to be further along before we had to actually fight," Hilda grumbled.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the last thing we want is a siege," Larishka said. "We are not provisioned for it. We bloody their nose, they pull back. We'll have proven we're serious about holding this position. Then, since they have the weight and might of Empire, they can play a waiting game. They'll wait to see what we do next and what kind of support we have. That gives us breathing room and we'll have proven we can pull off a victory against the Empire. That might earn us the support of one or more of the neutrals."

Some of the council looked dubious, the rest excited. They broke up soon afterwards, and as he was leaving, she called,

"Claude? A word?"

He turned back and stepped aside to let the others leave. He fantasized about closing the door after the last one out, bending her backwards across the council table...

"Come and take a walk with me?" she asked.

"Just like old times," he grinned. She walked around the table and fell into step beside him. He reached out and snagged her hand. She didn't pull away.

"Did you hear the gossip?" she asked as they walked downstairs. "Lorenz proposed to Lysithea."

"And?" he asked.

"She said yes," Larishka smiled. "Best possible match she could have made, politically speaking."

"Can't say much for her taste," Claude grumbled.

"Apparently, it is a love match, though," Larishka said. "Even though it does outwardly strengthen the pro-Empire coalition in the Alliance. We'll need to keep an eye on the Gloucesters even more."

"I think your old protest holds no water," he teased her. "You do like playing matchmaker, no matter what you say."

"Yes, I had so much to do with him becoming protective of her," she rolled her eyes.

"You seem to have all the details," he pointed out. "And you did used to assign him as her adjutant."

"Think whatever you like," she said dismissively. They emerged onto the battlements where they had stood together five years before. She gestured at the ruined town with the hand he wasn't holding. "Scheme, Claude. Think of something to get us out of this mess. I don't want a repeat of five years ago."

Her hand was trembling in his, and he realized she had no faith in what she had said in the council chamber- she had only been staving off their panic.

"We tear down the rest of those buildings to make chokepoints," he pointed. "We funnel them through there. Two or three people hold the line. The others raise a ruckus out front."

"Fairly standard tactics," she snorted, her face taught and white. He stared out over the ruined town, his mind working overtime.

"And then I have a saboteur slip down the side over there from the service gate," he thought out loud. "I'll seed the area in advance with oil and pitch. He burns the Imperial army out. I send you as his escort to make sure they don't shoot him prematurely."

"Me?" she objected.

"You." His voice brooked no opposition. "We need to clear that area for rebuilding anyway, and it will give us a false reputation for recklessness. We aren't; it'll be a controlled burn. But it will make them pull back and take pause, like you said."

"I don't need you trying to keep me safe," she protested.

"I don't trust anyone else to keep my arsonist alive," he argued back. "Besides, after he's set off our little trap, I don't put it past you to walk through fire to get at that Imperial commander."

"I'm only reckless to protect all of you," she retorted, then paused. "Especially you."

"Because I need it the most," he joked.

"Depends. Are you still cocky and reckless?" she arched an eyebrow.

"I'll be just as careful as you are," he promised.

And then, willing to wager the entire world, he bent and kissed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Intermediate:  
> Claude-> Lord  
> Hilda-> Brigand  
> Lorenz-> Dark Mage  
> Leonie-> Archer
> 
> Advanced:  
> Larishka-> Enlightened One  
> Lysithea-> Warlock  
> Raphael-> Grappler  
> Felix-> Swordmaster  
> Ignatz-> Sniper  
> Marianne-> Bishop


	16. Chapter 16

When the Empire's forces actually came, Claude sent Felix along with Larishka to 'give her a hand', though he knew she probably wouldn't need it. He and the others crashed down the center, making a lot of noise, and his scheme went more or less according to plan, except for the pegasi knights dropping out of the sky directly on Ignatz. He killed the first one and was badly wounded by the second.

 _Is he out of the fire zone? Good. Keep pushing forward and keep them away from him. He's had worse,_ Claude thought dispassionately. Felix jogged around the ruin and saluted him with his sword.

"Light 'em up!" Claude roared and flames rushed skyward. The Imperial soldiers screamed and began to flee.

Like a goddess of vengeance, Larishka strode out of the flames.

"You!" The enemy general gasped, then roared, "I'm taking you with me!"

Larishka side-stepped the initial charge, seeming not to notice Claude's shout of warning or four of her former Deer racing to back her up. Her face was perfectly blank and emotionless as she raised her sword and almost casually eviscerated him.

* * *

It was late by the time Claude had been briefed by his scouts and done a walkthrough of the remains of the town to make sure no hidden fires continued to smolder. He heard jubilation from the Knights' barracks and smiled tiredly. He nodded to the gatekeeper, who was looking wistfully towards the sound of merriment, and continued around by the pond towards the former student housing, thinking of bed, when he realized that not all of the music came from the Knights' barracks. The mess hall was brightly lit and he heard music and clapping. Wearily, he climbed the steps and looked in.

Raphael sawed out a country tune on a three-stringed fiddle he'd found somewhere, and Ignatz and Hilda had dug up a drum and tambourine from somewhere. Lysithea and Marianne clapped along, and even Felix and Lorenz, tankards in hand, watched with interest as Leonie and Larishka faced each other on top of the table and jigged for all they were worth.

"Mr. Leader Man!" Hilda crowed, spotting him. "Come grab a beer! My money's on Leonie!"

"Mine, too!" Larishka called breathlessly, sweeping her skirt aside and baring even more leg as Raphael increased the tempo.

"Don't you dare give up! I'm going to win fair and square!" Leonie challenged, just as breathlessly. Claude blinked, blinked again, then grinned as he joined the party. The soup was forming a skin and the beer was flat, but in here was warmth and light and friendship.

Leonie won the jigging contest, but Raphael and Ignatz kept playing. Claude danced with all the ladies. Lysithea managed to drag a protesting Lorenz ("I don't know any of these country dances!") out for a couple, and Leonie claimed a resigned Felix. Hilda circulated like Claude and even got Marianne to dance with her.

When Raphael finished that set ("I gotta get more food!"), Larishka collapsed against Claude's chest, clearly exhausted.

"Smooch! Smooch!" a tipsy Hilda cried. Claude blushed and turned his head to scold his annoying best friend, but Larishka put up her hand and turned his face back to hers. She reached back, took a firm grip on his head, and pulled him down for several long seconds. His head swam- and not from the beer.

She tasted of barley tea.

"That's one for one, von Riegan," she whispered and let him go. She turned and walked out of the party.

"Geez, Claude, go after her!" Hilda walked over and elbowed him in the ribs. He knew he had an audience, but everyone except Hilda was studiously pretending to be minding their own business.

"Time's not right," he muttered.

"If the girl kisses you, the time is perfect," Hilda snorted.

"Look, she did it on a dare because you goaded her into it." He argued. "And if I leave now, everyone will notice and make assumptions. I'm not going to ruin her reputation because you're feeling pushy."

_Larishka is perfectly sober and she let you kiss her the other day. Yeah, but she phrased it as returning a favor. Dude, she's not into you._

"Hey, Hilda," he said to change the subject. "Your birthday is in a week, yeah?"

"Oooh, you remembered?" she squealed.

"I was just thinking- do you want one of the wyverns from my flock? You're pretty good in the air now and-" the rest of his thought was cut off as Hilda squealed with glee and glued her lips to his.

"Best. Birthday. Ever!" she said enthusiastically. "Will mine be white like yours?"

"Uh, no, sorry, Abráh is the only albino wyvern I have," Claude said.

Hilda pouted for a second, but brightened. "I can't believe this! Claude, you are the absolute best guy friend a girl can have!"

"You're welcome," he said, embarrassed again. He decided it was time to leave this party. As he walked out, Hilda was saying to Lorenz,

"Oh, lay off you prude. A kiss doesn't mean anything. Besides, I intend to do everything in my power to hook him up with the Professor."

* * *

The wyvern Claude chose for Hilda was an older one that had mellowed with age. Nader brought him in the night and met Claude well away from Garreg Mach's patrols, filling him in on how Riegan territory was faring in his absence.

"Holst's kid sister, huh? I hear she's a handful," Nader leered.

"Well, she's energetic and kind of flighty, so I wanted one that will bond to her without too much of the working over its aggression, or she'd get discouraged and give up." Claude ignored the innuendo.

"Rumor has it she flat told her brother she wasn't going to marry and has been living alone on a dependency on the Goneril estate."

"You gossip like an old woman," Claude snorted. The insult was worse in Almyran and Claude had been hearing it himself since he could talk. Regardless, he followed by asking, "where did you hear that?"

"I keep an eye on the Gonerils from time to time, since it's the Gonerils I may have to fight," Nader was not at all phased by the insult. "Well, I've got a long flight back to Riegan lands. Take care, kiddo. I'll drop down and say hi to that Daphnel woman if I see her. Mighty fine woman, that."

"Don't let her hear you talking like that or she'll remove your beard whisker by whisker," Claude retorted and mounted Abráh. He clucked insistently to Hilda's new wyvern, who roared and fluttered his wings to assert his independence, then flew back towards Garreg Mach.

* * *

The introduction was a success- Hilda managed to prove her dominance and cow the old wyvern with only a minor burn. Then, to the old wyvern's confusion, she settled in to baby and spoil him. Claude shook his head and left her to it.

He found Larishka perched on the fishing dock contemplating the icy water.

"Time to walk?" She asked.

"Sure thing," he said. Fraldarius lands bordered Ailell, the blasted wasteland where they were meeting Judith's reinforcements. Felix had briefed them on it in council.

"-not much experience with deserts," Larishka said. "My biggest concern is if we have to establish a supply chain through there on a semi-permanent basis. Spoilage through evaporation, for example."

"I'm not expecting it to be a necessity," Claude replied. "I'm worried about our victory going stale. Once we have Daphnel's troops and the supply caravan they're bringing, we need to choose and Imperial target that will be close and easy to up our troops' morale and hopefully a target with a goodly number of supplies to augment that caravan- and one we don't have to hold so we can pull back here."

"Do you have such an ideal target in mind?" Larishka asked.

"I'm working on it," he said with a frown. "Also, I have a roundtable conference coming up and I hope another solid victory by then can sway more of the old farts our way."

"How long?" she asked, her face worried.

"Another couple of months."

"You don't ask for small favors, do you?" She shook her head, but he fancied there was something flirtatious in her tone. "Let me talk to Lorenz. If our target is one that is worrying Gloucester, it might sway his father our way." She paused. "I wish I made a more believable archbishop so that I could appeal to his public persona as a pious follower of the church."

He slipped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. The whole Fodlan touching thing got easier the more he did it. "We'll work it out," he said and let his arm drop to take her hand. "I don't really have much desert combat experience myself, but if we encounter anyone out there, it'll probably be a patrol-"

Despite the serious nature of their conversation, she was smiling as they continued along.

* * *

A polite knock sounded at Claude's door. He pulled it open to find Marianne there. "Oh, hey, Marianne, come on in."

"I, umm, no thank you!" She said, blushing. "I just wanted to ask a favor of you."

"By all means," Claude said casually, leaning against the door with a show of ease, making sure he was out of her personal space.

"I..." she trailed off. "There's, umm, a monster? A demonic beast. And it's supposedly dragging away innocent people. To eat them. Can you, umm. The Professor said she would help me kill it. Will you come too?" Her eyes darted around nervously.

"Certainly. When do we leave?" he asked.

"As- as soon as possible. That's why I, umm, please don't think me too forward!" The mortified girl ran off.

"What sort of reputation do I have?" Claude asked the open air, scowled, and started to pull on his dancer's robes.

* * *

The monster was dispatched with ease and some very intriguing comments. When he started to pester Larishka, she uncharacteristically resisted. "Ask Marianne. It's not my secret." She insisted. "I promised her I wouldn't tell."

All in all, Claude would not count it among the best months of his life.

At last, it was time to set out to rendezvous with Daphnel's relief column. Of course things never went that smoothly. As they looked at the banners of the former Kingdom's House Rowe, Felix's lips moved in a scathing curse.

"They would have had to come right across Fraldarius territory to get here."

"We need to break through their lines to find out what happened to Daphnel," Larishka said and drew her sword. Reverting back in time a few years, she ordered,

"Golden Deer- advance!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Intermediate:  
> Claude-> Dancer  
> Lorenz-> Dark Mage
> 
> Advanced:  
> Larishka-> Enlightened One  
> Lysithea-> Warlock  
> Raphael-> Grappler  
> Felix-> Swordmaster  
> Ignatz-> Sniper  
> Marianne-> Bishop  
> Leonie-> Paladin  
> Hilda-> Wyvern Rider
> 
> Lorenz/Raphael B  
> Larishka/Marianne A


	17. Chapter 17

The light was on in the classroom.

Claude had expected it, actually. He jogged from the cathedral to the classroom and leaned in the door. Larishka sat at her old desk, her face in her hands, the dark blue of her dress blending into the shadows. He walked in and up the aisle to her, his boots quiet on the stone floor. She looked up, her eyes tired and rimmed.

"No cheerful 'heya, Teach' for me tonight, huh?" she asked.

"I can if you want," he said. "But you didn't look as though that was what you needed right now. Besides, I have a vested interest in you thinking of me as co-leader of this army and not as your old student."

She scowled, but her heart wasn't in it.

"Larishka, what is it? All of us are fine. None of us were seriously hurt out there." He took a knee and held her cold hands in his so that they were eye-level. "You usually get sleepless and guilty when something happens, so what happened?"

She struggled with herself for a moment, then answered, "Ashe."

"I feel like I should have seen that one coming," he said. He and she had split off from the main body of the Alliance forces and headed north along a lava path, where Ashe had stepped out to meet them. He had taken a shot at Larishka, who had cut him down with her most expressionless face. Claude and Larishka had wound up fighting back-to-back in the passage, and then she had continued north to attack from behind while Claude had moved west to rejoin the main body of troops.

"Exactly," she said. "He probably was as resentful of the church as Lord Lonato was before him after we cut his adopted father down. Of course he would join Edelgard's crusade against the church."

"So you're mad at yourself for not expecting to see him out there?" Claude guessed, confused now.

"No." She turned her anguished green eyes towards him. "Claude, that last battle, here, before I... lost a few years. I injured Edelgard, but she escaped me and I let her go. And now- now Ashe is dead."

"Blame Edelgard. Don't you [u]dare[/u] blame yourself for this war or that kid's death," he said harshly. "All the gods of war, Larishka, not everything that happens is your fault!"

"I [u]knew[/u] him, Claude. I have him lectures on command. He- he was one of my students, too, and I killed him." Her voice broke. "Always before, back when they called me the Ashen Demon because I was so unemotional about killing- none of the soldiers I killed in ten years as a mercenary had a face I knew. All I can think of is the cheerful young boy who thanked me for finding his lost talisman."

He stood and pulled her to her feet. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She gripped the fabric of his padded jacket and shook against him, burying her face in his shoulder.

"If you need to cry, I'm here," he whispered against her hair.

"Claude, I- I don't know how. When my dad died, that was the only time I've ever cried in my life." Her hands clutched him more tightly. "I'm a monster, a demon. Whatever Rhea made me, I can't even cry!"

"No!" His voice was once more harsh, forbidding. "You are Larishka, my Larishka, the woman who cares so deeply that she sacrifices everything for everyone else around her and never has anything left for herself! Dammit, stop calling yourself a monster!"

He tilted her chin up and kissed her hard. She resisted for a moment, then clung to him desperately. He lost track of everything in her taste, her scent, her hands locking in his hair, her thigh sliding up the outside of his-

He pulled back when she started to unbutton his jacket.

"No," he croaked and cleared his throat. "Larishka, I'm not taking advantage of an emotionally vulnerable woman." He cursed his principles as he looked down at her, bent backwards across her desk, hair messily spread beneath her shoulders, leg drawn up around his waist, every inch as he had fantasized a thousand times in this very classroom.

"Don't I get any say in this?" she demanded and her hands dropped to his sash. She unwrapped it and he groaned as her hands dropped lower to caress him.

"Yes, you do- but- I don't want you to regret this later!" He knew very well that soldiers had a reputation for 'live for today' that translated into rash decisions and promiscuity. "I kind of had visions of seducing you and romance and this lasting longer than some one-night stand." He said the last through between grit teeth, barely able to get the words out, head thrown back, eyes closed, [i]Oh, goddess![/i]

Mercifully, her hands came back to rest on his waist.

He looked down at her and all of his resolution was put to the test. "I love you and respect you too much to go sneaking in and out of your room like horny teenagers back at the academy." He said, still gasping. She sat up and brushed her disheveled hair back into place.

"Who's sneaking?" she asked rebelliously.

"I refuse to let you become the subject of camp songs and dirty jokes." He said firmly, watching the candlelight playing on her skin. She smoothed her skirt and sat with her knees properly together.

"You have a point about that," she admitted. Her logical, tactical voice took over. "If we're relying on my extremely dubious position as interim archbishop to gain supporters, that reputation has to be spotless. Double standards are a bitch, but they do exist. We already discussed your political position and the marriage requirements thereof. The most I could ever be is your mistress, and that discreetly if we ever find Rhea."

"I'll find a way to marry you once this war is done," he promised impulsively, seizing her calloused hands again.

She smiled sadly. "I'm a commoner and you need that political arrangement," she reminded him again.

"Commoner- my-" he growled and pulled her against him again. "I swear-" he dropped kisses across her cheeks, lips, forehead, and lips again between phrases. "You think more-of social position- than even Lorenz!" He kissed her firmly, then dropped his lips to the hollow of her throat. "I am going to bankrupt Riegan territories. I am going to drop priceless necklaces around this beautiful throat and braid [u]ropes[/u] of pearls in your hair. I am going to wrap you in the sheerest, most translucent lengths of silk and [u]nothing[/u] [u]else[/u]."

She moaned, her throat vibrating against his lips. "Did you want me to be good or not?" she gasped, arching into him.

"I want to worship every blasphemous scar on this perfect body," he said, his hands catching her around the waist and lifting her to bury his face between her breasts. Her hands clutched his hair again and her thighs closed around his hips.

"Your room or mine," she gasped, throwing back her head.

"Yours. It's closer," he answered and told his brain to kindly go to hell.

[hr]

He had to go back to the classroom for his sash before he continued out to the wyvern paddock the next morning. Abráh reacted strongly, roaring and pulling away, wings flapping with alarm. Then the wyvern dropped back to all fours and butted his head against Claude, sniffing strongly.

"What is your- oh." Claude switched to Almyran. "Get used to it, buddy. You're going to be smelling her on me a [u]lot[/u] more often."

Abráh snorted and fanned his wings again.

He was almost done and considering a flight for pleasure's sake when Hilda came into the paddock with breakfast and treats for her old wyvern. "Claude! There you are! You know, it's a real hassle trying to get you alone these days."

Claude ducked his head, pretending to check Abráh's claws again so that his face wouldn't give anything away.

"So when I had my birthday tea with the Professor, I casually brought the conversation around to what we thought was really romantic when a guy was interested. I took notes."

He heard the rustle of paper. "Hilda, I don't need it."

"Oh, by the Goddess, Claude, I don't intend to spend the rest of this stupid war with one of my best friends moping around because-"

He had to hold in his laughter so as not to startle the wyverns. He looked up, not bothering to hide his smirk and said, "Hilda. I. Don't. Need it."

Ten minutes and a nasty scratch for Claude later, they calmed down the wyverns who had been startled by Hilda's shriek of surprise and delight. He sat on the fence bandaging his arm, while Abráh sulked on the other side of the paddock.

"You need it more than ever then, if you want her to [u]keep[/u] feeling that way," Hilda informed him as she handed over her notes. "I was surprised by how [u]conventional[/u] she is. Really girly, really."

"Oh, really." Claude said, folding the papers and sliding them into his jacket pocket. He certainly wasn't going to read them in front of Hilda.

"So spill. How did it happen? When? Where?"

"I'm not giving you details!" Claude was horrified to feel his face heating up. Hilda stared at him incredulously, then slowly blushed herself.

"Oh, Goddess, you already went that far?" she asked in a hushed voice. "Claude, you better get those notes out and do something really special for her right away, or she's going to think it's just sex."

"Hilda, keep your voice down!" He hissed, despite the fact that she was. "And you're probably right, but I want to do it my own way, not with cheat-sheets. I want it to come from me."

"There's no harm in getting a little help," she pouted.

"You're right," Claude said, "but not the first time. If you want to help so badly, toss a picnic lunch in my saddlebags, won't you?"

"Perfect!" Hilda said. Claude grinned and headed off at the trot. He found Larishka in the cardinals' chamber studying the maps tacked to the wall. He slid up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Laika," he said teasingly in her ear as she started to turn. "Laika, the sun is shining, the snow is melting, and my wyvern is restless. Come and take a flight with me."

"I thought we were being discreet," she said, her face smooth and expressionless.

"We are," Claude answered. "We'll be back before the meeting this afternoon and I often take the air patrol. No one will think anything of my bringing you along 'to scout possible weaknesses'. Hilda and Marianne will fly the actual patrol so there's no gap in our defenses and there are no Imperials in the area anyway-"

"That we know of," the professional mercenary interrupted sternly.

"- so you and I will be perfectly safe. Pretty please?" He kissed her behind the ear.

She laughed and pushed him away. "Why do I always let you have your way?" she asked.

"Maybe you love me?" He suggested.

"Maybe I do," she teased.

"Only maybe?" He raised an eyebrow. She hesitated for a long moment.

"I do."  
[hr]

Claude walked normally down the hall with his hands in his pockets as he left a meeting several days later. He stopped, leaning against the wall outside Jeralt's room as his chattering former classmates dispersed. Hilda gave him a smirk that changed to confusion as Larishka passed with a quick smile.

"Who are you waiting for?" Hilda asked.

"Why you, of course, gentle maiden," he answered grandiosely. "I never turn down a chance to talk with the flower of the Gonerils. Especially when I owe you thanks for your fortuitous, unasked for advice into my love life."

Hilda folded her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. "Claude, what are you up to?"

He sighed. "I have some snooping to do, and I wanted to do it without an audience. Where's Seteth?"

Hilda peered down the hall. "He just went back to his room."

"Damn. Well, I have two other places I can still stick my nose into." Claude sighed.

"Lorenz would take you to task for swearing in front of a lady," Hilda informed him, tossing her head.

"And we've both ended sentences with prepositions, so there," Claude responded. "Will you take off so I can get to it?"

Hilda stuck her tongue out at him and flounced away. Claude walked into the throne room and went boldly into the office Seteth had shared with Rhea. Military reports five years old littered the top of both desks. Seteth had administrative accounts and financial records in his desk and a half-finished religious parable. Rhea had cleaned her desk out prior to the Empire's assault. All he found was one snapped, dry quill.

That was a bust. He sighed, ran his hand through his hair and smiled as he thought of Larishka smoothing back his hair. He then walked casually out and back into the main corridors. Here he had to be more careful, but no one seemed to pay any attention to him. Catlike, he slunk up the stairs to the third floor. Seeing no one, he hurried to Rhea's room.

It was surprisingly bare, without even any religious paintings or portraits. Claude lifted the pillows, checked under the mattress, and then under the bed. All that yielded was a pair of slippers.

The bedside table held a washstand and a towel. In the drawer, he found a copy of the Scriptures of Seiros. It was heavily annotated with scratch marks, carrots, and commentary. Tucked between two chapters was a lock of light green hair.

[i]Rhea's own? Someone else's? Sitri or one of her sisters, maybe? Or-[/i] Claude felt a sudden chill. [i]Larishka's?[/i]

He hastily put it back and almost slammed the drawer. He crossed the room and went through the writing desk. There was some heavy stationary, a seal and wax (Claude pocketed it just in case it might come in handy), ribbon, and a stoppered bottle of ink. The top of the desk had an ink blotter wrapped around a long-dried quill. Neatly rolled and sealed next to it was a contrastingly messily addressed letter to Larishka.

Claude grabbed it and almost flew from the room.  
[hr]

The Shield of Seiros was now locked in the Golden Deer's weapons locker with the collection of relics they kept acquiring. Larishka indicated that she was more willing to use the Shield, just as she was Thyrsus, as they weren't so recognizable as the famous weapons and didn't require the same amount of care and repair to keep in working order.

It was now late and he thought she was asleep in his arms. As he often was, Claude was wide awake. He sighed.

"Regrets?" she murmured.

"Three of us injured because of those big metal... things. Lorenz, Hilda, and Leonie. I should have gone down there. I should have scouted and found out what those things were and how to beat them. Now we have three commanders in the infirmary because of my recklessness. And our victory here at the monastery has gone stale. We need to pick our next target and fast. Will the three of them be better in time?"

It was her turn to sigh. "I know the exact feeling," she reminded him and squirmed around to lie on her back in the narrow bed. He started to pull away to give her more room, but she wrapped her legs around his to keep him close. He dropped his hand under the blanket to caress her thigh.

"If it were you lying up there tonight, I would never forgive myself," he said, his voice low. "Do I have the right to put their lives at risk when I'm so unwilling to risk yours? Gods of war, you think you're the monster?"

She sat up and he could feel her scorching glare down at him in the darkness. "Claude von Riegan, I am my own woman. I take my own chances and risk my own life, and the same goes for every soldier in this army! One of those things [u]did[/u] get me pretty good as you may recall." She put his hand up to feel the heat from the metal thing's white magic burn.

"Why do I feel like our positions have been reversed?" he chuckled. She flopped back down and his arm jerked in protest.

"Sorry," she apologized and wiggled aside for him to move his arm. "You're right though. Enough council meetings. Tomorrow, we pick our target and make our move. We've kept Edelgard waiting for long enough."  
[hr]

"The Great Bridge of Myrddin," Claude pointed at the map. "Once we take it, we will have removed the Empire from the Gloucester border and out of Alliance territory. We can refortify it, supply it, and use it to stage our first attacks into the Empire's territory."

"Lorenz. What can you tell us about the bridge?" Archbishop Larishka asked, leaning forward in her chair. Lorenz jerked as if he had been caught napping in class.

"Well, it is obviously extremely well fortified. It was built with massive granite blocks on a thick, powerful foundation. It has keeps and barracks built into the bridge itself. A rope pedestrian bridge runs alongside for the use of commoners and non-military personnel. The bridge is guarded by a ballista. Forests cover either side of the river, blocking views of troops coming up the road. My father's land and Acheron's land abuts it. They occasionally dispute over who controls- and taxes- it."

Larishka nodded confirmation. "Gather your battalions," she ordered. "We leave tomorrow. Don't leave anything behind you might miss- hopefully we won't need to retreat back here. We leave a token force to secure the monastery and protect the village."

As everyone else left, she added, "Claude. Walk with me."

They made a circuit of the walls. "I didn't know we were shifting the entire bulk of our forces," he said.

"I measured it out. We wouldn't be able to resupply or reinforce it from the monastery without significant delay- possibly fatal delay." She wore her so-called Ashen Demon face. "If we're going to penetrate deeper into Empire territory, we'll need to use Myrddin as our staging point. So. I'm going to send you and Ignatz to neutralize that ballista Lorenz mentioned, and then bulk of our forces can take the bridge stage-by-stage through those keeps and barracks. Leave Ignatz to man the ballista and you can come up on their rear. We'll crush them between us."

"Is that why you have your mask on? Because you're giving me the most dangerous job?" he asked, reaching for her hand. She stepped back a pace out of reach. "Laika, what is it? Why are you all 'deadly serious commander'?" He was slightly hurt.

Her face softened. "It feels strange how 'Teach' is a different person than the 'Ashen Demon Eisner', and 'Archbishop Larishka' and 'Claude's Laika'," she mused. "Claude, don't you realize how hard it will be to remain discreet in a camp full of soldiers and a barracks? This is the critical time to either win the entire Alliance by this battle, and then the political one that follows, or else our entire momentum drops and we lose everything. I can't be 'Claude's Laika' until at least after the round-table conference- too much rides on my reputation being immaculate when I face the Alliance nobles. I already have Hilda coaching me on etiquette and forms of address."

"If I had known last night was the last night I got to spend with you, I would have made it memorable," he whispered. "Special."

"Claude, I'm sorry," she said and turned away. "I'll see you in the morning."

She walked purposefully away. Claude clenched his fists. His servants would be spying on them during the conference, in the pay of either Gloucester or Edmund, and then they would return to the army and the barracks, and then onward until the war ended and it was back to Archbishop and Sovereign Duke...

"So I'm supposed to give up either you or my dreams?" He asked the empty walkway. He was alone, surrounded by the noise of wyverns in the air, jangling metal, and shouted orders. Suddenly, that emptiness stretched away before him into the future, and Claude found himself asking if the cost of preventing other outcasts from being alone was that he would always be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Intermediate:  
> Claude-> Dancer
> 
> Advanced:  
> Larishka-> Enlightened One  
> Lysithea-> Warlock  
> Raphael-> Grappler  
> Felix-> Swordmaster  
> Ignatz-> Sniper  
> Marianne-> Bishop  
> Leonie-> Paladin  
> Hilda-> Wyvern Rider  
> Lorenz-> Dark Bishop
> 
> Larishka/Hilda A  
> Lorenz/Larishka A


	18. Chapter 18

Claude walked along the stone span of the Great Bridge of Myrddin, lit by flickering torchlight. He had no real reason to replay the battle in his head, no major regrets. Everything had gone as smoothly as possible, considering the circumstances. Even when Acheron had warped in behind them with his forces, Felix had turned and cut the turncoat noble down. Leonie had ridden out in front and lured their wyvern-mounted general back to Golden Deer lines, where Leonie had cut her down. Hilda had flown over to offer Claude back-up. She and Leonie had trapped Ferdinand between them and (Claude had one of those disorienting dizzy spells) Hilda had chopped him down with her axe.

It had been a clean, decisive victory and the celebration tonight was loud and boisterous. Claude, however, was feeling pensive. He glanced upward again, even though he he knew his eyes were too dazzled to see anything.

He missed Garreg Mach.

He heard her familiar booted step, but didn't turn or wait for her.

"Heya, Claude," she said quietly.

"Heya, Laika," he answered, and with his use of the nickname they both knew he forgave her for breaking up with him. He now turned and leaned pensively on the stonework of the bridge, looking down over the cold spring river. She came and leaned beside him.

"What are you thinking about tonight?" she asked.

He ignored her question. "How's Hilda holding up?"

Larishka shrugged. "Right now? She's drinking and flirting with some of the Knights. I don't think she knew Ferdinand very well and she tends to repress unpleasant events under normal circumstances. I think she'll be fine."

He nodded. The two of them continued to stare down into the river. Finally, he broke the silence.

"Sometimes I get this weird, dizzying feeling of deja vu in battle. I'll think you ordered Leonie to attack Ferdinand, and then I get dizzy and Hilda's cutting him down instead. The worst time was during the first Battle of Garreg Mach, when I watched Edelgard kill you. Twice."

She froze and he saw the Ashen Demon expression- or lack thereof- slide over her features.

"You said something about using the goddess's power when Jeralt died, and that was before you 'changed' in the 'darkness'. I used to think you meant your crest, but that's not the case, is it? What are you hiding from me, please?"

Larishka closed her eyes. She breathed deeply and then spoke, keeping her eyes closed. "The morning we met in Remire village, I had only been up for about fifteen minutes. I had been dreaming very vividly, first of a massive battle between clashing armies and then of a young, strange-looking little girl with green hair. Then, when that bandit leader rushed at Edelgard, I threw myself between her and the axe. Everything froze and the green-haired girl was there scolding me for throwing away my life. It was the first time Sothis lent me her power- the ability to reverse time by a few minutes."

Claude felt his eyes shoot open wide.

"I've been using it to keep us all alive ever since then, but it seems like some people are able to sense when I use it. Like when Jeralt died and Solon stopped me from killing Monica. Or Jeralt himself- remember, he asked 'hey, did you just-' when I did it. And apparently you."

" 'I don't believe in fate'," he quoted,

She scowled and held up her hands. "Watch the sentry torch," she said and made a peculiar twisting motion. He saw it jerk back to where it had been, then move forward again... and again... each time accompanied by the twisting motion of Larishka's hands. "See? Events continue as they would have. But if I- or anyone, really- acts-"

She quickly drew her sword and clanged it loudly on the stone. The torch stopped and the sentry called a challenge. " -events change. Human action and initiative. There is no fate."

He looked at her skeptically.

"Like when Edelgard 'killed me'. I tried something different, and it didn't work. You acted, events changed, I didn't die. See? Human agency."

"So you have philosophical arguments like this with the goddess in your head?" he asked, mind reeling.

"No. Mostly, she just had a habit of scolding me for recklessness," she shrugged. "And I told you she left me when she gave me her powers. Except for the time when she woke me up for the Millennium Festival."

"Pity you didn't let Edelgard die and spare us all of this," Claude muttered. "So if you could already alter time before your big 'change', what can you do now that the goddess gave you all her power?"

"I don't know," Larishka answered, her face grave. "I didn't exactly have time to ask, she didn't explain, and I wouldn't even know how to start experimenting with something like that."

"But the goddess is a nagging young girl?" Claude whistled. "Ruins all of Ignatz's fantasies."

Larishka elbowed him in the ribs.

"Ow! You learned that from Hilda!" he accused. He glanced around, saw no one lurking in the shadows and drew her close. He kissed her and reluctantly let go. "I'll see you in the morning," he whispered. She nodded and silently slipped away.  
[hr]

Hilda flew part way with them, then peeled off to head for Goneril territory. "I'll come with Holst to see you during the conference!" she called. Claude waved acknowledgement. Marianne, Lysithea, and Lorenz were riding together until they needed to part for their respective homes. The three commoners and Felix traveled as a group on foot.

At least for now, Claude and Larishka were alone.

He was tempted to dawdle along the way, but his duty to Fodlan was clear. Besides, Larishka was nervous enough about her upcoming role and her mastery of the intricacies of etiquette and address. He wanted her to have a couple of days to get used to her surroundings before she had to act in public.

But, as they camped on the road rather than trying to find accommodations, it was nice to sleep with her nestled in his arms again.

He introduced her to 'Nardel' and was pleased when they hit it off right away. He remembered when he had told Hilda at the Academy that if these two ever had a baby, it would be a demon, and it was all he could do to keep from laughing.

A noblewoman from the d'Este's minor noble family was assigned to Larishka as a protocol officer, to Larishka's obvious relief. She clearly shared Larishka's view of ecclesiastical propriety, because she had assigned Larishka a room as far from Claude's as you could get and still be in the manor.

By the end of the week, he was glad as the others started to arrive. He was so busy with catching up on over four months' worth of administrative detail that he wanted to scream. He only saw her during meals, but it was enough to make him smile as he watched her learning the subtleties of high class dining ("I eat it whole? Bones and all?"). He was sure she would have done him proud, but was relieved on her behalf anyway that the conference, due to being on a wartime footing, was not going to include a banquet.

The formal court chamber was seldom used- roundtable conferences were usually held at a literal five-person round table in a privy chamber. But this time, Claude ordered the throne room opened, aired, and cleaned. He had removed the throne and replaced it with the round-table. Any Alliance noble was welcome to come and watch from the floor, and any commoner was welcome to come and fill the galleries. Claude had figured that for the comfort of some of the more class-conscious he'd better keep separate seating. The three common-born Deer would sit upstairs and the noble-born Deer down below with Felix ostensibly acting as an observer on behalf of the Kingdom.

Claude paced nervously in the antechamber, hearing the excited chatter of the commoners and lower nobility. By tradition, no one was supposed to be armed, but Hilda had cunningly worked small daggers into the formal wear of each of the Deer today, worried about the Empire sending assassins.

[i]And if Hilda can do it, any of the other Fodlanese can do it, too...[/i]

The door opened. Claude automatically straightened and turned with his polite social smile. It turned into the real thing as Larishka shyly stepped into the room. She wore a white ecclesiastical gown similar to Rheas, but looser and providing better ranger of motion. He thought he saw the outline of a dagger on her thigh, but the subtle gold-thread embroidery, lace, gauze, and seed pearls would distract from that.

"Well?" She asked, clearly relieved that they were the only two in the room. "Will I embarrass you out there?"

Dimly, he heard Margrave Edmund announced. He crossed the room and bowed over her hand. "Far from it," he said and lightly brushed her fingertips with his lips. "We will have no need for candles and oil lamps with you to illuminate us."

"Flatterer," she accused. Holst was announced.

"I love you and you are beautiful," he assured her. He gazed at her until she started to blush in that charming way of hers, bridge of the nose first. "I thought I was supposed to be the one to drape you in silk and pearls." His voice dropped to a growl as he reached for her-

"Count and Lady Gloucester," the herald shouted.

"Damn." He whispered.

"Agreed," she said. He offered her his arm and she placed her hand lightly over his. In perfect step, they crossed the room and paused. The door was flung open wide and he was almost dazzled by the sun streaming through the stained-glass replica of the Leicester coat of arms, the thousands of candles, the reflections from the jewels the nobles wore...

"His Supreme Grace, Claude, Duke von Riegan. Her Beatitude, Archbishop Larishka of the Holy Church of Seiros."

With solemn dignity, Claude led her down the stairs and past the rows of nobles, who genuflected as they passed. He escorted her up onto the dais and to her seat, set slightly behind his and away from the table, since she was technically an observer. Lady Angelica d'Este stood behind Larishka's chair as Claude seated himself.

"Greetings gentlemen, ladies, and honored guests," he began, bowing his head in turn to the table, Larishka and the protocol officer, and the room in general. He saw his friends in the front rows of spectators and relaxed slightly. Lysithea looked put-out to be seated with Lady von Ordelia instead of with her fiance. "For five years, we have avoided the question of the Adrestrian Empire's program of expansion. In those five years' time, we have all acted in the manner we felt was best suited to protect our own lands and vassals. This has led to as many different approaches are there are people in this room today.  
But we can afford this separatist stance no longer! We are an Alliance and we must act as one! On the twenty-fifth of Ethereal Moon, we were blessed with a miracle. Lady Larishka, the hand-picked successor to our previous archbishop, Rhea, was returned to us. We had feared her lost after the Empire's initial attack on Garreg Mach monastery, but Lady Larishka, recovered from her grievous wounds, reappeared by the will of the goddess on the one-thousandth anniversary of the monastery's completion. And in her return, the arrogance of the Emperor turns to superstitious awe and fear! Rallying Riegan and Daphnel forces, and the justly revered and feared Knights of Seiros, she has expelled the Empire from Garreg Mach and from the Alliance territories! With the aid and support of each of you, we can end Edelgard's reign of military expansion and assassination!"

There was astonished murmuring and some scattered applause. Claude lowered his tone, becoming less declamatory. "She has already earned the faith and loyalty of those she has taught. She has the devotion of your children and siblings. We ask that you put your faith in her and in the church during our time of need."

"What need?" Count Gloucester asked. "If you pay her tribute, the Emperor will leave you alone- to flourish!"

There was some murmur of agreement.

"Will she, though?" Claude asked. "Count Ordelia, I ask for your thoughts."

Count Ordelia flushed and looked at the tabletop until he had his expression under control. "We in Ordelia territory have followed the instructions of the Adrestrian Empire through fear. They crushed us, removed all of our resources, and reduced our once-numerous family to how you see us now. For five years, we have submitted, knowing what would happen if we did not." He lifted his chin proudly. "My daughter has spoken extensively of Her Beatitude. If she is as she is reputed to be, she is the only hope Ordelia has of rising from our knees. I pledge Ordelia support to Riegan and the Holy Church of Seiros."

"Oh, come now-" Count Gloucester began to scoff.

"Claude. May I speak?" Felix asked, cutting Gloucester off. Lorenz folded his lips tightly.

"By all means. Ladies and gentlemen, I present Lord Felix, the heir to the Fraldarius dukedom in the Kingdom of Faerghus. The Fraldarius family is the right hand of the throne." Claude gave a seated half-bow. Gloucester sat back in his chair. Felix stood and faced Gloucester and Gloucester alone.

"I understand you think as long as you do whatever Edelgard tells you to do, she'll leave you and yours alone. Perhaps there's security to be found as a noble house that is part of the Empire. But as far as she's concerned, there is only one power on this continent, and that is the Adrestrian Empire. You won't have the Leicester Alliance anymore. Her full attention has never been on Leicester- it has been on Faerghus. She instituted a coup. She killed every person with a drop of Blaiddyd blood in the Kingdom. She taxes us beyond our ability to feed ourselves, she presses our peasants into 'public works projects', raids our lands to feed her massive war machine, and makes 'demonstrations' of our captured soldiers. The only reason she hasn't turned her attention to the Alliance is that Fraldarius keeps fighting. So yeah. Stay 'neutral' and 'flourish' on the security that the blood of my family has brought for you so far. She'll get around to you and your Alliance once she's 'pacified' the Kingdom. Right now, she doesn't think you're a threat. And before you say 'she won't do it if we obey her', well, we know she's a liar. She said her war was with the church. What does the church have to do with a rocky piece of mountainous territory in the far north without enough bread to feed our mothers and sisters, let alone our soldiers? We're the very people she claims she's trying to 'save'. Fraldarius will never bend knee to her." Felix sat back down, looking disgusted.

"I think this is a good time to hear from Her Beatitude herself," Margrave von Edmund said smoothly. "Lady, we know almost nothing about you or where you come from. We have only Duke von Riegan's assurances of your authority. If you would be so kind, we want to hear in your own words what you have to tell."

Larishka slowly rose to her feet. "Lord Edmund, I had hoped that my actions would speak for themselves," she said, then smiled to take the sting from her words. "Since you ask, here is my history in brief. My mother was a nun in service at Garreg Mach. According to my father, she called Lady Rhea 'mother'- a simple term of affection, no doubt."

Seteth in the audience went white.

"My mother died in childbirth. My father was overcome with grief and resigned as captain of the Knights of Seiros. He became known as the Bladebreaker, Jeralt Eisner. When I was an adult, we returned to Garreg Mach, where I received a teaching appointment for the Golden Deer House. When Emperor Edelgard declared her war against the church, Lady Rhea informed us that she intended to take the field herself to defend our home. With Seteth and then-heir von Riegan as witness, she passed her duties to me in the event that some misfortune befall her in battle. Alliance forces witnessed Imperial soldiers dragging Lady Rhea from the field of battle. I was wounded badly as the cliffside gave way. Once I recovered, I returned to Garreg Mach to fulfill my duties. My home is now secure. Allow me to help ensure the safety of yours." She paused, looked around, and smiled. "If I may, here is the current military situation along the Alliance border: we have secured the Bridge of Myrddin and transferred our full staff to its keep. We know forces are massing at Fort Merceus. We believe we can draw her out to engage her on the plains at Gronder, depriving her of her major bread basket in Bergliez territory..."  
[hr]

In the end, all of the major houses agreed to sign a formal declaration of war against the Adrestrian Empire and pledged troops, supplies, and money to support the cause. Count Gloucester managed to turn it around until he was the major 'leader' in the amount of support promised. Claude brought up the traitorous Acheron and made a show of giving the lands to Gloucester, save only a stipend for the support of Acheron's widow, since there was no evidence she had been involved in his support for the Adrestrian army. Claude formally transferred control of the Alliance forces to the church for the duration of the hostilities, and Archbishop Larishka immediately made provision for the defense of Alliance lands ("a home guard, if you will") and appointed Holst commander of those forces. Afterwards, Claude and Larishka glad-handed and at last made their way to a late dinner. All of the Deer joined them and Claude pressed them to stay until they could return to Myrddin together. After dinner, Larishka found him in the library, and he pitched his idea of researching Macuil to her.  
[hr]

Claude had definitely invented better schemes in his day. Hilda, Marianne, and Leonie had all be terribly hurt fighting the ruin's watchdog. The previously undiscovered relic was no comfort: he still didn't know anything more than when he had set out.

The other Deer had taken the injured ladies back to Myrddin. Knowing now that his disorientation was Larishka using the Goddess's power to keep them alive, he worried about how much worse it would have been if she wasn't turning back time. He had seen it and he still couldn't wrap his mind around it.

[i]But if she let three of us get that badly wounded...[/i]

At least when they split off to lock this new weapon away with the others in the Deer weapons locker, they had two whole days- and nights- to themselves in Garreg Mach. In a real bed. Even if it was a narrow military bunk.

She seemed as desperate for him as he was for her.

They returned reluctantly to Myrddin and Judith filled them in on the situation with the Empire- starting to advance- and the unknown force under the Kingdom banner.

"[u]I'm[/u] technically a descendant of Blaiddyd," he reminded them. "There are probably any number of claimants to the Kingdom's throne wandering around- cadet houses, secondary lines, royal bastards, that sort of thing. Edelgard's minions just killed off the legitimate heirs. So, it still looks like we'll meet Edelgard at Gronder."

"And that third force, if they crossed in Ordelia, will probably get there at around the same time," Larishka pointed out.

"Well, I'm going to overlook what is technically a violation of my borders for now, unless either of you wants to make a protest. Lorenz? Lysithea?" Claude folded his hands under his chin.

"I'm afraid Ordelia doesn't have the power to protest," Lysithea said with a bitter twist of her lips.

"Gloucester offers a token protest, but I withdraw my complaint in the interest of military expediency," Lorenz sighed. "From what Lady Judith says, they wouldn't accept an envoy anyway. I suggest we inform my father that we are investigating and otherwise let it drop."

"Wise choice," Larishka murmured, then raised her voice. "All right, everyone. Let's head for Gronder. We muster at dawn."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Advanced:  
> Larishka-> Enlightened One  
> Claude-> Wyvern Master  
> Raphael-> Grappler  
> Felix-> Swordmaster  
> Ignatz-> Sniper  
> Marianne-> Bishop  
> Leonie-> Paladin  
> Hilda-> Wyvern Rider  
> Lorenz-> Dark Bishop
> 
> Master:  
> Lysithea-> Gremory


	19. Chapter 19

Once again, Claude found himself pacing the darkness between torches after the battle. It had been an ugly one. Claude estimated they'd lost two-fifths of their forces, but they had stood victorious after the Adrestrian forces had withdrawn- actually retreated, the mighty Empire- and after the Faerghus army had been crushed against the rock of Adrestria and Leicester by their mad king.

Faerghus was no more.

Lysithea, Leonie, Marianne, and Ignatz were all in the infirmary. Lysithea, Marianne, and Ignatz had taken their bridge the fastest on the eastern side. Claude had hoped they could hold the bridge and perhaps parley with the Faerghus warriors. Ingrid had made it clear they had no intention of accepting an embassy. Ignatz had put in arrow in her and Lysithea had brought her down, just as she had the first time they met on this field, permanently this time. The three of them had tried to hold back the Faerghus advance with their battalions, but Ignatz had gone down under the onslaught of armor knights, then Lysithea to a swordsman. Marianne retreated to the bridge, her powerful Faith magic holding them back for some time before Dimitri broke through the ranks and charged her. He left her crumpled there and turned back, not bothering to cross it, to advance along the north of the field towards the main body of the Alliance.

Meanwhile, Larishka once more moved down the center with Leonie, Raphael, and Felix. She had already told Claude she had no intention of letting Felix face any of his former Lion classmates, and she was good to her word, though he was ruthless against other Faerghus officers. Leonie charged the center and eliminated Bernadetta's ballista threat, trampling the body beneath her hooves as she charged through. Bernadetta was avenged by Petra who badly wounded Leonie, and Larishka was instantly there, ordering the Immortal Corps into a charge.

"I will withdraw," Petra told her with dignity. Larishka, wearing her Ashen Demon face as she always did in combat, saluted Petra with her sword and stood aside. One of Petra's soldiers helped his officer to limp from the field of battle.

Raphael meanwhile moved west. Hubert blasted him with black magic. Grimacing in pain, Raphael charged forward and chopped deeply with his axe. Hubert chose to Warp to safety and abandon the battlefield. Raphael took a breather, put on his gauntlets, and began punching his way towards Edelgard.

Claude got there first. He and Hilda had seen Lorenz safely over the western bridge, where he started causing havoc among the Adrestrian lines, then flew straight for Edelgard. Claude flirted with her, riling her up, then flew directly down at her with a flashy sword technique that left her flustered, vulnerable, and injured.

Hilda simply shot one arrow past him.

Badly wounded, the Emperor also elected to Warp away.

A small troop of cavalry rode up behind Larishka to reinforce the Faerghus army, led by Sylvain. He charged directly for Larishka, who raised her hands and blasted him away with fire magic. He didn't survive.

It was obvious the soldiers of Faerghus weren't giving up. Claude turned Abráh and flew to back Larishka up. He crossed paths with Mercedes.

"Oh, Claude! I haven't seen you in such a long time!" She called, then her face darkened. "I'm sorry we had to meet again like this." She lifted her hands. Without thinking twice, Claude drew an arrow and shot the lovely girl he had danced with at the ball during their school days. She fell, dead. He flew on. Below him, Lorenz scorched Dedue, who also retreated at his lord's command. Lorenz stepped aside and let him go.

"Dimitri!" Claude called as he approached. "Edelgard has retreated! This is pointless!"

"Move, Claude, I have no time to exchange words with you!" The mad king bellowed. Claude unhooked his axe from his saddle, swept down, and with a single mighty blow cleaved Dimitri almost in two.

The rest of the Faerghus forces broke and ran. The Adrestrians had retreated when their Emperor did.

Gronder Field was theirs.

* * *

A familiar booted step drew his attention. He stopped to wait for her. She slid her arms around his waist and rested against his back. He folded his arms over hers.

"Brooding?" His Laika asked. He didn't reply. "I love you."

He turned to embrace her. "Neither one of us says that very often."

"Then we should say it more."

They stood in the dark at the edge of their camp on the far side of Gronder Field. They were surrounded by the smell of smoke, blood, and far worse, despite the best efforts of their engineers and sanitation crews. He rested his cheek on top of her head.

After a few peaceful minutes, Larishka stepped back, looking over his shoulder. "Dammit, she should be in the infirmary!"

Claude turned to see Lysithea wandering through the camp, looking for someone. He shrugged and let her go. As the two of them walked back into the light, Lysithea saw them.

"Claude? Professor? I need to talk to you."

* * *

As much as Claude was concerned by Lysithea's tale, the fact remained that they had lost two-fifths of their forces in one costly battle. They had no more interest in Lysithea, whoever these mages were, and all of his friends were probably well-protected here in camp. The Alliance army needed more men and more supplies if they were going to take as large and supposedly unconquerable of a fortress as Merceus was reputed to be. 

There was no official round-table scheduled for 'the duration', so Claude wasted almost a month flying between the individual estates of the various Alliance novles, begging for more men and supplies.

They all held stubborn. Surely Claude could see that they were already contributing all that they could afford. This was such a hard time for everyone. Only Gloucester dared to hint that if only the Alliance forces won more battles would he see fit to find more help somewhere, somehow...

Frustrated, Claude traveled even further north. On his way back, he brought a troop of wyverns with him and made a very important introduction.

* * *

Claude dismounted in the wyvern paddock, pleased that Hilda and Marianne had spotted him and challenged him (no security risk from the skies!) as they flew the patrol. Abráh was fed, watered, and Claude was checking his wyvern's wings for damage- a process Abráh hated as much as Claude checking his claws.

Claude was almost knocked down when Abráh snorted unexpected greetings to someone and lunged forward.

_He's a wyvern! He doesn't accept anyone except his rider!  
...or his rider's mate..._

Abráh crunched down loudly on the bones of a skinned rabbit their visitor had brought as a treat. Distracted, he let Claude finish checking his wings, then butted his head against Larishka's chest and let her scratch behind his ears and horns while Claude checked his claws.

"Gotta say, he's better behaved when I have help," Claude said. "I'm glad to know he's accepted you and will protect you when necessary. Did Hilda or Marianne tell you I was back, or did you see me fly in?"

"I've been watching for you," she said, her voice reproachful. Claude set Abráh's leg back down and looked at her. Her expression, of course, showed no sign of it, but there were deep circles under her eyes. He suspected late nights with counters and red wax again.

"I shouldn't have left you when you needed me," he whispered, guilt-stricken.

"Was it worth it?" She asked.

"No. None of the nobles is willing to budge. I put a little refinement on our Merceus scheme, but that was it."

Abráh looked back and forth between them and let out a screech.

"Voyeur," Claude said in Almyran. He looked around, saw no one, and pulled her close. She melted against him. Abráh, seeing that all was right with the world, put his nose back in his water trough.

When they pulled apart a long while later, he slipped his hand in hers. They turned to walk through camp, not caring who saw.

"I have been completely unable to get a layout for Fort Merceus, since none of our troops have been there," she complained, as disgusted by her failure as he was by his. "The best I've managed is some reports by aerial scouts, but they couldn't get too close because of ballista. I have no battle plan at all. I think we're winging this one, and I hate improvising a battle."

"Any sort of headcount on the enemy at all?" He asked.

"Better than we were expecting- we did a lot of damage at Gronder and most of her troops have pulled back to Enbarr," she reported, then scowled. "I would suspect a trap, except for one thing- the commander is that Death Knight."

"Then we'll still expect a trap. Maybe she does have something planned- like our little fire trap at Garreg Mach that she ripped off for Gronder- and wants to limit the casualties on her side." Claude said. Larishka's scowl deepened. "What?"

"I'm still recovering from my burns from when I chased Petra onto that pyre at Gronder."

"Oh. I wish I could do something about that for you." He didn't mean anything lascivious by it, but she gave him a suspicious look. "You're tired. You're upset. Let's go play chess in the mess tent until it's time for chow. That or you go take a nap until dinner and I'll wake you."

She gripped his hand tighter. "I haven't seen you for almost a month. I'm not about to waste my time napping."

"Chess it is," he smiled and led her to the mess tent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Advanced:  
> Larishka-> Enlightened One  
> Claude-> Wyvern Master  
> Raphael-> Grappler  
> Felix-> Swordmaster  
> Ignatz-> Sniper  
> Marianne-> Bishop  
> Leonie-> Paladin  
> Hilda-> Wyvern Rider  
> Lorenz-> Dark Bishop
> 
> Master:  
> Lysithea-> Gremory
> 
> Larishka/Lysithea A


	20. Chapter 20

Claude sat at the table in the mess tent, as stunned as his former classmates by the destruction of Fort Merceus. The food sat untouched on the table in front of them, with the exception of Larishka, who had finished her dinner and was now sipping her tea.

"It's a pity Marianne could only remember so little of that legend of Ailell," she commented. The others shook off their shock and straightened at the sound of their beloved Professor's voice.

"Why Ailell?" Marianne asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Larishka set her napkin down briskly. "Pillars of light from the sky, destructive fire, no survivors? I think however we can rule out the wrath of the goddess on this particular occasion. It's more magic, like Remire Village or the other destructive, powerful single-use magics we've seen Edelgard's mages use."

"It is very similar," Lysithea said slowly. "Except that the fires at Ailell are still burning- there were no lava pools at Merceus today. Also, Professor, light is usually associated with Faith magic, and we've only ever seen our enemies use Reason against us. And we have no proof that this magic is single-use."

"Very astute, my darling," Lorenz praised her.

"It could be that the earth was cracked to its core at Ailell, causing geysers of flame that erupt to this day," Ignatz hypothesized, being the best read of all of them. "Perhaps the thick stone walls and foundations of Fort Merceus absorbed some of that blast."

"As for single-use, I think it probably takes a lot of magical power to pull off something like that," Claude said. "They didn't use it at Myrddin, which would have kept us from crossing the river and engaging them at all. They have never used it against Garreg Mach- which is another argument for it not coming from the goddess. Larishka and I were expecting a trap of some sort- I think they gambled on leading us to one location and wiping us out with one big, powerful, unstoppable strike. It would have worked, too, if the Death Knight hadn't lured us out for whatever reason."

"Pride," Felix snorted. "He wants to test himself against the Professor man-to-woman without Alliance or black magic tricks getting in the way. And we have seen them use Faith magic before- when they were using the Western church as their stooges."

"As for 'Reason or Faith', why not both?" Larishka asked. "They're experimenting with using crest stones- like the ones they stole from the crypt- and blood magic- as Flayn and Lysithea can attest. They tried to steal the bodies of the Saints; it sounds to me like they're trying to combine their Reason with Faith. After all, some Faith magic can be very destructive- like Marianne's Aura spell."

"Damn," Claude agreed. He thought for the first time in years about his theory of Rhea's experimental Faith magic to keep Larishka alive, and his theory that there was more Faith magic hidden by the church. "How's this for brainstorming- grudge against the church, check. First they use other branches of the church to steal what they need for their experiments and then they get Edelgard to declare war on the church to destroy it. Some kind of schism or old fracture? That so-called Wind Caller in the desert didn't seem too keen on either the goddess or the Elites."

"So we are fighting an enemy of the church who has manipulated the Empire into doing the work for them?" Lorenz made a leap of logic, but Claude was willing to accept it.

"This is all very pretty conjecture," Judith said, "but it is only conjecture. We can make guesses about those mages Lysithea told us about, or we can seize Enbarr and ask the Emperor herself."

"But what if they drop those so-called 'javelins of light' on Enbarr while we're fighting there?" Hilda asked, her voice and face still terrified.

"That's what I was saying, Hils. I think if they could have used it more than once, they would have already. They gambled on getting us all at once and failed," Claude said soothingly.

"But we don't know that for certain!" she wailed.

"Then do you want to just give up, go home and stop fighting the Empire? Just let Edelgard do whatever she wants? Let her use the threat of those javelins to keep the populace in line?" Larishka asked more gently than Claude anticipated.

"No, I'm just scared," Hilda admitted. "If we were in the city, we wouldn't see them coming. And with narrow streets cluttered with people, we wouldn't be able to run away in time."

"Well, first we need to focus on Enbarr," Larishka said. "If we lose momentum, they'll have time to regroup and to prepare that spell again. Let's hit them before they can, and then we won't need to worry any more."

She stood and walked out, calling for an orderly to find some maps for her. Claude gave her a few minutes, during which he ate his cold supper, then followed. She was in her tent, looking over Adrestrian maps by candlelight. He carefully left the tent flap open and nodded at her bodyguard.

"Show me," he said, coming over and leaning down over her shoulder. It looked innocent enough to anyone passing the tent, but he needed any excuse to be close right now, to feel her warmth and breathe her scent. She sat on a stool at a collapsible table, and beneath the table, sheltered by their bodies, he reached around her to rest his hand on her belly, the skin bared by her black shirt.

She trembled as she pointed out landmarks and possible approaches. She tilted her head to one side, her light green hair falling so it exposed her neck.

"-don't have time to go by sea."

"I wish I could stay tonight," he murmured, and she shivered.

"Maybe since this is the last push, we can wiggle more out of those nobles," she said in her normal voice, then murmured back, "I hope we find Rhea in the capital so I can stay at your side at last. I miss the heat of you lying beside me."

"At least no one was seriously hurt today. We'll go over it in our briefing." He glanced at the tent flap. Her bodyguard wasn't paying any attention. He dropped a silent kiss behind her ear. "After Enbarr, my love," he whispered.

Reluctantly, he removed his arm from her waist and strode out.

He would have welcomed cold- or any- sheets.

* * *

Their walk-and-strategy meeting was desultory. No one in the army- either Almyran, Alliance soldier, or the odd refugee from Faerghus- was familiar with Enbarr.

"Our scouts report two gates- one from the south and one from the west. We'll split our forces and rejoin in the plaza before the palace," Larishka said. "I don't like splitting our forces in this case, but we can't afford reinforcements crawling up our sides. I've had firm words with the troops about looting and atrocities- and threatened the commanders that any 'bad behavior' comes out of their hides. I'd hate to have to act on those threats."

"I have more bad news," Claude reported grimly. "She isn't evacuating the city. It's martial law in the streets and her people cowering at home. She has to know what our next objective is; she's using the civilians as shields."

Larishka spat a curse that would have earned Lorenz's disdain for years. "The last damn thing I want is house-to-house fighting. That provides more opportunity for those atrocities I mentioned."

"After we take the gates, we'll just have to leave paths clear for fleeing non-combatants and pray," Claude shook his head. "This whole thing is going to be a massive cock-up if we're unlucky and a disaster at worst."

"It's a cock-up if we're lucky," she disagreed. "Claude, I hate this whole situation."

"At least it's not a siege," he pointed out. Enbarr's walls were so old and in such disrepair that they wouldn't need to be forced.

"Thank Sothis for tiny miracles," she sighed ruefully.

"You do that," he said, glanced around, and dropped a kiss on top of her head. "Tomorrow night, we sleep in Edelgard's palace. We then start the unpleasant chore of being occupiers."

"You have a cheerful mind," she told him sarcastically, and turned to stalk off.

He chuckled. "Good night, Laika."

She turned back, and her face softened. "Good night, Claude."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Advanced:  
> Larishka-> Enlightened One  
> Claude-> Wyvern Master  
> Raphael-> Grappler  
> Felix-> Swordmaster  
> Ignatz-> Sniper  
> Marianne-> Bishop  
> Leonie-> Paladin  
> Hilda-> Wyvern Rider  
> Lorenz-> Dark Bishop
> 
> Master:  
> Lysithea-> Gremory


	21. Chapter 21

Claude couldn't believe it was over. The Death Knight hadn't been a problem- Lysithea had dropped him from quite a ways away. Larishka had cut down Hubert in the courtyard in front of the palace. Ignatz- once again in the infirmary- had with Leonie's help trapped Petra and ended her life with an arrow. Once in the throne room, Dedue, who had offered an unexpected hand, blocked a door while Claude went for Edelgard.

He had never had one of the dizzy spells while mounted on Abráh's back before.

"Go after that mage!" Larishka shouted over the din and he veered left to obey, knowing she had just used the Goddess's power to save his life. He shuddered at the thought. Once the mage was dead, he returned to his grim advance. Just as he reached Edelgard, Lysithea warped Larishka up beside him.

As he had at their second meeting at Gronder Field, Claude flew in close, grateful for the high arched ceiling, using flashy sword techniques he had learned as a dancer. He wounded her desperately, distracted her.

The Ashen Demon had taken her head.

The main door to the throne room crashed open. Reinforcements rushed in- too little, too late- to behold their emperor dead on the floor, the Archbishop standing over her, and the former Golden Deer in a semi-circle around them, drawn bows and sparking hands pointed at the door.

The few remaining Adrestrian soldiers in the palace decided to surrender at that point.

"What should we do with her?" Lysithea asked.

"Display her corpse as a warning," Felix suggested.

"No," Archbishop Larishka answered, still wearing her Ashen Demon face. "Let her be placed in the royal crypt." Claude was pretty sure he was the only one who heard the malice in her tone as she added, "Let the rites of Seiros be said for the dead."

She turned her back on Edelgard's body and strode to the doorway, where Edelgard's queen stood. "Hello, Dorothea."

The mage-commander lifted her chin. "Hello, Professor."

A very faint smile touched Larishka's lips for a second. The moment passed and Larishka said seriously, "Do you have any place to go?"

"Back to the opera, I guess, when it's allowed to reopen," she answered, sounding resigned.

"I'd like to offer you my protection. I will assign Hilda and Marianne to guard you."

"Am I to consider myself a war prisoner?" Dorothea asked tartly, a flash of almost noble-like pride.

"I'm trying to save your life," Larishka answered. "You know how people are. I ordered that there was to be no looting, no atrocities, but some vengeful officer might declare you a traitor or some fat merchant with a hank of rope might think he's currying favor with the winning side."

Dorothea went white. "All right," she agreed. "I'll accompany you as far as Garreg Mach and stay until I can locate Professor Manuela."

Larishka nodded and waved Hilda and Marianne forward. "Don't let anyone hurt her," she ordered. Marianne looked determined, but Hilda was her usual cheerful self.

"Don't worry, Professor! I'm sure everything will be just fine now!" She chirped. Larishka gave a distracted nod (Claude almost pictured her ruffling Hilda's hair like a puppy) and strode away calling for engineers.

Claude walked with the soldiers that escorted Edelgard to her final sleep.

* * *

It wasn't over yet.

Claude paced the room, reading and rereading Hubert's letter. His mind cycled over and again the contents of that missive about the black mages who had manipulated the Empire, the story Lysithea had told them, and the very little they had gotten from the weakened Rhea. Larishka had decreed that as soon as Rhea was able to travel, they would take her back to Garreg Mach and leave Enbarr in the capable hands of Judith and a whole slew of architects.

"I want this palace down," Larishka had said grimly. "The grounds can be a public garden and we'll build public woks on the site of the building."

She was with her grandmother (?), leaving Claude alone with his thoughts. He turned too fast and whacked his knee on the low table the Fodlanese insisted on having in the middle of the floor in their so-called 'sitting rooms'.

He was so busy swearing, he didn't notice the door open and close.

"Claude?" Larishka called softly. "Are you OK?"

He looked up and saw her standing there with her hands behind her back. The ecclesiastical robe was gone, leaving her in the black clothes she had favored when they first met, minus the coat. She looked vulnerable and young and heartbreakingly beautiful.

He smiled. "Just wasn't paying attention to where I was going. Are you OK?"

She nodded, licked her lips, and looked nervous. "Here," she blurted out and held out her hands. Laying on her palms was a lopsided, messy garland of white flowers. "It's the last day of Garland Moon, so I'm running a little late, but they were there in the garden, so I thought 'why not'?"

Her hands were shaking. Claude stepped around the table, walked over to her, and took a knee, bowing his head forward. "I humbly accept this token from my lady's own hand," he mischievously quoted what he thought tales of chivalry sounded like.

"Be thou crownéd the everlasting king of my heart," she replied, getting in the spirit. She lowered the circlet of flowers onto his head. It was slightly too large and drooped over one ear. He took her hands and kissed them once each. His coronation over, he reached up, gripped her hips, and drew her to him, kissing and lapping lightly at her belly button. She laughed, her back arching and giving him a better grip. He shifted his hold and drew her shorts and tights down, then leaned into her.

"If anyone should be kneeling, I should be your supplicant," she insisted. "Rise, my lord, and allow me to be your servant. I touch your knees and beard." She dropped to her own knees.

"I'd rather you touched me elsewhere," he teased and rolled to the carpet with her as the flower crown broke apart and the white petals scattered around them.

* * *

Hilda winked when they came down to breakfast together, but no one else elected to show if they noticed anything. There wasn't any time for sight-seeing in the ancient city, as the administrative details of occupying and rebuilding the city overtook them. Judith wasn't pleased at becoming governor pro tempore, especially with the looming promises of more fighting against the so-called 'slitherers'.

A few days later they rode out. Claude and Larishka flanked the litter that carried Rhea. Some people gathered in the street and cheered as they passed, but others stayed behind tightly-shuttered windows and doors. Behind them, crews began the work of tearing down the walls of the palace.

They made it home in time for Claude's birthday. Larishka served a birthday tea and teased him flirtatiously while they talked of different battalion strategies and Almyran cooking. He set up the new cherry wood chess board she had bought him and broke it in with a fierce game with her, then afterwards he went on a solo flight with Abráh. They had dinner together with all of their friends, Lysithea presiding over dessert. As they curled up together afterward, he said as he pinched out the candle,

"I am definitely taking you to my home village to eat my mother's khoresh."

Larishka nodded drowsily. "I'm glad I can just be 'Claude's Laika now," she yawned. "When the scouts come back, we'll take care of this Shambala and this will all be over. Finally."

He smiled in the darkness. As birthdays went, this was definitely one of the better ones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Advanced:  
> Larishka-> Assassin  
> Raphael-> Grappler  
> Felix-> Swordmaster  
> Ignatz-> Sniper  
> Marianne-> Bishop  
> Leonie-> Paladin  
> Hilda-> Wyvern Rider  
> Lorenz-> Dark Bishop
> 
> Master:  
> Claude-> Barbarossa  
> Lysithea-> Gremory


	22. Chapter 22

As places went, Shambala was definitely one of the weirder ones.

Lines of blue magical light were traced on the floors and on the walls. Red arrows on the floor written in light pointed to doors. He couldn't even begin to determine what shiny black material everything was made from. Metal cylinders shot Bolting spells everywhere and proved indestructible. Metal statues behaved like demonic beasts and were just as hard to kill.

Ignatz would now have a scar on his right arm to match the ones on his left side. Considering the kid wanted to be an artist, this seemed particularly harsh to Claude, who had to drag-carry him out of the collapsing city after another round of those javelins of light (proving that they were the product of these 'slitherers').

Claude hoped he would never become as blase as he sounded about those things.

His hopes weren't having the best track record lately. Back at the monastery, Claude and Larishka went to finally confront Rhea about, well, everything. Before he could digest the implications of her story, they were interrupted by reports of a new force attacking towns under a banner of the Crest of Flames. It wasn't identical to the one that Claude had designed, but similar enough to give him the creeps. Scouts had poured in over the course of the day, necessitating meetings, briefings, paperwork...

_This was all supposed to finally be over!_

And now, well past midnight, he couldn't find her.

Larishka wasn't in the cardinals' room, or her/their room. She wasn't in the mess hall, or the cathedral, or with Rhea. He even checked the graveyard, or maybe she was waiting for him in the Goddess Tower?

Nothing.

He stood, leaning against the familiar embrasure. His eyes automatically tracked down to the classroom. No candle burned there, shining through the yellow stained glass.

 _Well, the only places I haven't checked are the fishing pond and greenhouse,_ he thought, but it seemed unlikely at this time of night. Still, he was out of ideas, so he climbed back down the staircase, and jogged through the cathedral and across the courtyard.

A muffled sound from the dark classroom stopped him. Claude stood still and listened. Hearing the sound again, he cautiously pushed open the classroom door.

The sound of crying instantly stopped.

"Laika," he called softly. "Why are you sitting here in the dark? Come to bed."

She sniffed, but remained where she was. He carefully made his way down the aisle and then felt his way around her desk to her. He tried to pull her to her feet, but she resisted, so he knelt beside her instead.

"Go away," she said, her voice broken.

"No." He said simply. He reached out and pulled her into his arms.

"Why are you here?" She demanded.

"Because you didn't come to bed and I was worried about you."

"No, I mean, why are you with me?"

He shifted his hold. "Because you are beautiful and sexy and a smart-ass with a wicked sense of humor and we have been through so much together, and a human being, so get rid of whatever self-doubt put you in this mood. Your turn to say wonderful things about me."

She ignored that. "I am not. I'm a corpse with a dead goddess's heart shoved in me and that's pretty messed up. I'm some sort of sick joke."

"OK, yeah, what Rhea did to you is pretty messed up, but it's not anything you chose," he rubbed her back. "Did I mention competent when I was listing off your good points? I didn't want to say anything that implied I love you for being good at killing my enemies. But competent? Oh, goddess, you are that."

"I'm selfish," she complained. "I couldn't cry for my dead students, but I can cry when I'm told I'm a galvanized corpse and Rhea wanted me to disappear so that Sothis could take me over."

He pressed her head against his shoulder. "Can I just say it, my love? Your family is fucked up."

The sound she made was half laugh and half sob. "You weren't taking it this well this morning," she accused. "I saw your face when Rhea told you where the crest stone is."

He thought and measured his words. "Is the 'experiment' too horrifying for words? Yes. Do I blame you for any part in it? Absolutely not. Was I grossed out by the idea? Shocked and horrified? Yes. But it doesn't change the fact that I swore to always be at your side and that I want to be. I'm not staying out of obligation or anything." Her arms wound around him and she nuzzled into his neck. He kissed her clammy forehead. "Bath time," he announced. "I'll wash your back and vice versa."

"You're strong and supportive and you take care of me," she said into his shoulder, a little muffled. "And you're funny and a smart-ass and your abs and waist are just- ungh!"

He chuckled and swept her up to go find some hot water.

"And your eyes are so green..." she whispered, and his heart about leaped out of his chest.

* * *

A few days later, he was wrapped in the latest round of dispatches when a pair of arms slid around his chest.

"Heya, Teach," he said absent-mindedly.

"Heya, Claude," she murmured back in his ear.

"So much for discretion these days, huh?" he said, putting the papers down on the council room table. She unwound herself from around him and made a face.

"I made sure there was no one else around," she informed him. "I was just going to say 'come and take a walk with me'. For old time's sake."

He stood and slipped his hand into hers. She squeezed it. They walked out and around the curtain wall together. Standing and looking over the main thoroughfare of the fortress town, she gave a long shuddering sigh.

"They are vicious and they are not out for conquest," she said. "They are not trying to hold territory- this army is destroying villages, killing the villagers, and moving on. They seem fairly single-minded about their target- which is undoubtedly us."

He nodded grimly. "I thought Rhea was jumping to conclusions- and fairly paranoid ones at that- when her first response was 'Nemesis, somehow back from the grave' considering she's been trying without success to resurrect her mother for over a thousand years, but that's the rumor I'm getting from my few scouts that make it back. I keep trying to insinuate even a single spy into their lines, but all of them have been discovered and killed- brutally- according to the other scouts. The ones who kept their distance. It is a large force, but from what I'm hearing they're all outfitted with extremely archaic weapons and armor, and have no grasp of modern formations and conventions. They've won so far with brute force and sheer numbers."

"I think we have all the intel we're going to get," Larishka agreed. "At a fast march, we can get our forces through the pass to the south and make it through to the plains. Moving an army through those mountains will not be fun or easy, but I want a lot of open space to maneuver when we meet them and I think they would beat us to Myrddin and chokepoint us if we tried to take the easier route."

Claude nodded ruefully. "When do you want to leave?"

"Within the hour, if we can swing it," she said. Claude stepped back with surprise. "This is not going to be a long campaign. Everything relies on us moving fast and hitting him with everything we've got. No camps, no bivouacking, not even a supply train- tell our quartermasters to fill packs as fast as they can and the troops can grab them as they muster."

"Yes, ma'am!" he saluted her and trotted off. He glanced back when he reached the stairs and his heart broke to see her standing with her Ashen Demon face and clenched fists in her navy-blue assassin leathers, looking exactly as she had before the fall of the monastery. He shook off his superstitious surge of fear and left her there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Advanced:  
> Larishka-> Assassin  
> Felix-> Swordmaster  
> Ignatz-> Sniper  
> Marianne-> Bishop  
> Hilda-> Wyvern Rider  
> Lorenz-> Dark Bishop
> 
> Master:  
> Claude-> Barbarossa  
> Lysithea-> Gremory  
> Raphael-> War Master  
> Leonie-> Bow Knight


	23. Chapter 23

The only weapon Larishka carried now was the Sword of the Creator.

As they formed up on the edge of the swamp, Claude looked around at his former classmates and comrades. He himself was stringing Failnaught and nearby Hilda gripped Freikugel. He saw Marianne with Blutgang, Lorenz with Thyrsus, Lysithea carrying Caduceus, Leonie with Assal, and Ignatz with a bow of Zoltan. Nearby, Felix was testing Belgata. Claude felt a surge of confidence. These were his friends and comrades. They could face down anything. He clapped Raphael on the shoulder and grinned. Raphael, wrapping leather bands around his knuckles, grinned back. He had refused any special weapon, choosing to trust his own strength and a brave axe.

"Well, Teach? Ready when you are," Claude called.

She took a deep breath and drew the Sword of the Creator. "Golden Deer- advance!"

* * *

Leonie rode directly for Blaiddyd, rising in her saddle and setting Assal for a charge. She rode him down and turned for her next assault, her charger trampling him under his hooves. Goneril charged directly at his descendant. Taken by surprise, Hilda, who had just killed a mage, couldn't raise Freikugel in time.

"I think not!" Lysithea shouted as he raised his phantom axe a second time and shot him with Miasma.

Claude on Abráh could move much faster than his classmates. He flew back and forth across the swamp, his arrows felling Daphnel, Charon, and Fraldarius. Finally, he paused before Riegan.

"Hey. Can you speak?" he asked his ancestor- or the facsimile thereof. There was no reply besides harsh breathing. "Just puppets controlled by Nemesis," Claude remarked, disappointment bitter on his tongue. "Well, they're the strongest puppets I've ever seen." He brought Failnaught up and released in one smooth motion, watching his ancestor fall.

Meanwhile, Leonie had trampled Lamine the same way she had killed Blaiddyd and turned on Dominic. Larishka darted here and there, cutting down Gloucester and Gautier. A scream from Leonie momentarily distracted her, but then Lorenz and Raphael were there. Raphael snapped Dominic's neck, then lifted the badly wounded Leonie.

All attention now turned to one end of the field. Claude flew in, snapping off shots at Nemesis. The phantom dodged them all with ease. Claude and his Immortal Corps continued to harass him. Larishka charged in their wake, desperately wounding him with the Sword of the Creator.

"Professor, wait!" Lysithea called. "I claim this one!"

Larishka stepped back and Lysithea wove a Luna spell, which dragged Nemesis into its deadly drip. She watched almost as impassively as Larishka as the legendary phantom fell.

"If not for him all that time ago, those mages would never have experimented on me," Lysithea said, then abruptly turned and hid her face in Lorenz's shoulder.

Larishka approached and held out her hand. Claude clasped it for a moment, then pulled her into a rough embrace. Over her head, he glanced around. Ignatz and Raphael stood proudly side-by-side. Felix had taken Leonie from Raphael and Marianne had Hilda's arm pulled around her shoulders, Hilda pressing her hand to her wound. Two of them were injured, Ignatz and Marianne were a patchwork of scars, but they had come through it.

Together.

* * *

That wasn't the end of it, if any story can be said to have an end. They returned to the monastery together, and Rhea announced that she was retiring and leaving the role of Archbishop to Larishka. Hilda went into an absolute frenzy of design for Larishka's coronation. Claude tapped at the door to his best friend's room.

"Claude!" she squealed and jumped up to hug him, ignoring her limp. "Oh my gosh, I'm so glad you're here! Look, I wanted to show you- this headdress or this one? I'm thinking the Professor would be so much happier with a gold-lace circlet than any fancy crown- oh, and the colorstoo well with her hair?"

Claude glanced at the drawings. "Circlet," he answered. _That headdress looks too much like Rhea's._ "And I'm sure you've got a better eye than me for color. I stopped by to see how you were healing up."

"Oh, it still hurts bad and Marianne says I'm going to have a nasty scar," she pouted. "I just hope it heals up before the ball- my last one, incidentally. For a while anyway. After the coronation, I'm going back to the Goneril estates and my little house. I'm done with politics and wars and all sorts of nasty stuff. I mean, I'll come back for your wedding but-"

"Hilda," Claude broke in gently. "There isn't going to be a wedding."

For the first time since their first day with Teach in the training yard, she was speechless. Claude turned to go. "That's all, really. I came to check on you and say good-bye because I'm going back to Almyra."

"But- but why?" Hilda sputtered. "She loves you! And I thought you loved her!" She stared at him with accusatory eyes.

Claude turned back around. "You just said you didn't want any more wars. I don't want any more wars. Even Larishka the professional mercenary is sick of war. That's more important- more powerful- than anything, especially something as selfish as two people's happiness. So I'm going to Almyra to make this peace a lasting one, and I don't know how long that's going to take. It wouldn't be fair to ask her to wait for some time that may never come."

Hilda rummaged through her papers and came up with a sketch, handing it to Claude. He took it and felt his heart pounding itself to pieces. Hilda had designed a simple but beautiful white wedding gown with a simple, diaphanous veil. He stared at that drawing and bit his lip, but he couldn't disguise his shaking hands.

"So many of our classmates are dead, Claude." Hilda said quietly. "We could be dead in a week if some of those slitherers survived and know how to make those javelins of light. Grab life and love where you can."

He handed the portrait back to her. "This is so much bigger than either her or me. I realized months ago that the cost of our dream of peace would be our dreams of being together. If you will excuse me, I need to go break up with my girlfriend."

"I will not excuse you, Claude von Riegan!" Hilda shouted after him. "You had best pray to the goddess that she forgives you because I never will!"

* * *

Bemused, Claude watched the sunlight reflecting from the amethyst ring he wore on a chain at his throat. When he had found her in the Goddess Tower, he had remained resolute in his intentions until the stricken look on her face when she asked "you won't be there?".

He had reminded her of his dreams, their dreams, of a world at peace, a cosmopolitan world where people could mingle freely without hate and fear. And, as her face grew more and more white, he found himself promising to return, promising to share that world with her. And he had tugged the emerald from his hand, and she had given him Sitri's ring, and they had clung to each other until the shadows climbed the wall and entered their sanctuary...

And now, it was morning and he flew north and east on Abráh's back towards his homeland. He knew she watched him go from the Goddess Tower, but he didn't turn. If he turned now, he would never bring himself to leave.

He wondered when they would ever waltz together there again.

* * *

Claude had one stop to make before he left Fodlan 'for good'. Well after dark, Abráh circled the estate he sought and then landed on a balcony. He removed the bridle and patted Abráh's neck fondly. He then opened the wide door and slipped into the blessed cool of the library.

He wandered aimlessly, his eyes scanning the shelves. _Ah ha! Well, what a remarkably large poetry collection._ He selected one of the poetry anthologies at almost random and slid into a chair by the balcony to read by moon-and-torchlight. Abráh, smelling his rider within a few feet, fluttered his wings and settled down.

Claude's luck was in. He only had to wait an hour or so before the heir of the house pushed the door open and entered.

"Oh, good," Claude said, shading his eyes against the taper Lorenz carried. "I was beginning to worry that this room was only for show."

Lorenz sputtered, but luckily did not drop the candle. He crossed the room and began lighting lamps from it. When he had composed himself, Lorenz turned back to his late night visitor, still sitting casually in the chair by the window.

"And what, may I ask, are you doing uninvited in my house? Something unsavory, no doubt." Lorenz sniffed.

"Spot on as usual, Lorenz," Claude answered his his usual broad humor. "Just skulking about in the shadows, being the mastermind schemer and waiting for the opportunity to be lectured once again on my unnoblelike mien."

"Certain you did not come for my company," Lorenz set the candle on his desk and took another chair, unconsciously mirroring Claude's pose.

"Strictly business," Claude answered him. "I'm leaving Fodlan."

Lorenz's eyes widened, but his face gave nothing else away.

"I have some contacts in Almyra and I intend to see what I can do to use those contacts to unify Almyra as Fodlan is now unified. Once that's done, Almyra will no longer be a threat to peace in Fodlan."

"I see." Lorenz paused. "That is certain to take some time, especially if you intend to use diplomatic channels and not start another war." His voice almost inflected his words as a question.

"The last thing I want is another war," Claude assured him. "Especially when, due to high emotions and long-held grudges, it might spill over the border. That would run counter to my plans."

"Well, I do sleep more soundly at night when I know where you are and roughly what you are doing," Lorenz said. "But again, I doubt you ambushed me in my library in the middle of the night merely to keep me posted."

Claude decided to come at it obliquely. "Rumor has it that your father has decided to retire when you and Lysithea marry."

Lorenz's face became guarded. "In a sense. He will still remain on the estate to advise me and I hope to benefit from his wisdom for some time to come."

 _I'm sure Lysithea is pleased with this arrangement,_ Claude thought with irony. "I recall you talking about the many reforms you had in mind. Do you intend to become an advisor to Her Radiance?" 

Lorenz blinked, then his gaze steadied as he recognized Larishka's latest title. "I do want to do my part to help Fodlan, but I have decided that the course of wisdom would be to test my ideas on my own estate first before attempting to convince others to implement my strategies."

 _Heh. Maybe he is finally maturing._ "So, if not you, then who do you expect Larishka would assign as her foreign ambassador to cement a trade alliance with Almyra?"

"I never said it wouldn't be me," Lorenz said indignantly. "I am still the optimal, the most obvious and experienced choice for any diplomatic endeavor."

"Good," Claude answered. "I know I can work with you, and despite your conservative bent, you are at least open to the idea of relations with outside groups."

"Aren't you getting ahead of yourself?" Lorenz asked. "As we have already established, it is likely to take some time before Almyra is in a position to negotiate a normalization of affairs."

"I know, but I'm laying the groundwork early so that I can achieve my dream with less struggle when the time comes."

"I do admit, Claude, that the idea never crossed my mind until that conversation after Myrddin. I have been doing some thinking about what you said on that day, and while I find myself still skeptical, your words do have some merit." He paused for a long moment. Then, his expression pained at possibly admitting someone- especially Claude- might be better than he at something, Lorenz said, "You are already familiar with the customs of Almyra- you would also be a good choice to be Fodlan's representative in such matters."

Claude chuckled and shook his head. "I'm not being clear enough- I'll be the one negotiating for the other side."

Lorenz leaned back in his chair. "Would you prefer we draw up the agreement now and then you can just have it with you?" he asked, his voice tinged with sarcasm.

"Some may debate the validity of the document if we did it that way," Claude answered with mock seriousness. "Lorenz, you'll be respected. A leader. If you're open to trade and everyday contact with foreign nations, then it'll be easier for you and I to convince the people of Fodlan that true and lasting peace is possible."

"And you think this will all take you some time, but in the end will be successful." Lorenz stated rather than asked.

"As you pointed out earlier, maybe even a long time," Claude acknowledged. "But I absolutely think it is worth it."

Lorenz was silent for a long time. When he spoke finally, it was to change the subject. "I have been hearing some disturbing rumors. There are still some, shall we say, dissatisfied elements of the Adrestrian army floating around at loose ends. Worse to my mind, I believe that not all of those so-called 'slitherers' were rounded up after the destruction of Shambala."

Claude took a deep breath. "I was afraid of that," he muttered. "I can't spend the rest of my life here bending over Larishka's shoulder on the off-chance that one of these bushfires is actually dangerous. Can I trust you to watch over her for me?"

"You certainly are asking for a lot of favors tonight," Lorenz mused. "A less scrupulous man than myself might be inclined to both take note and take advantage, you know."

"I know," Claude answered and grinned. "Fortunately for me you are a reasonable, honorable man with a common interest in making sure that Fodlan is peaceful and the new Archbishop is well-protected."

"Yes, I certainly am that," Lorenz said with an amused smile that told Claude that several favors owed loomed in his future. "How will I know when you are ready to negotiate in earnest?"

Always ready for the dramatic, Claude stood and flung open the balcony door. Abráh rose and screeched, fanning his wings. Claude mounted.

"Keep your eyes on the skies, my friend!" he called. "And one day, I will be there!"

Eager to be off, the white wyvern leaped into the night sky and Claude von Riegan left Fodlan, never to return under that guise again.


	24. Chapter 24

One of the first audiences Her Radiance, the Archbishop of the Church of Fodlan gave was to the former Queen of Adrestria. His Holiness Seteth and the newly sworn Captain of the Knights of Seiros Alois were the only two in attendance. Archbishop Larishka was most uncomfortable in her new position and it showed. The throne had been removed from the dais and replaced by a small round table that seated four.

"Dorothea. Please join us."

"Thank you," the former queen and former songstress answered with impeccable politeness and joined them at the table. She smoothed her black skirt and lifted her chin. It was clear that she still held at least two of them personally responsible for the death of her wife. Larishka leaned her chin on her folded hands. The two women studied each other in silence.

"Well?" Larishka said finally.

"Stop it, Professor. This may be Garreg Mach, but this isn't a counseling session where we discuss my grades and what classes I should be focusing on to pass my next exams."

"We are, however, here to discuss your future," Larishka responded. "With everything that has happened in the past six years, you have no interest in joining the church and I have no interest in keeping you here against your will. We have gotten in contact with Professor Manuela." She watched Dorothea's eyes light up despite herself. "She has returned to Enbarr. Do you think you would be safe subjecting yourself to public scrutiny again?"

Dorothea gave a short, bitter laugh. "My wedding-and-coronation day was the most beautiful, happy day of my life, but it was the only time I appeared in public at Her Majesty's side. There was a war going on, after all. If people remember we were married, there might be jeering and filthy remarks when I appear on stage again, but that will probably be the worst of it."

"So you don't fear any violence- physical or sexual- when you return to the opera?" Larishka pushed.

"Professor, I'm not afraid of anything," Dorothea answered. "Nothing has the power to hurt me anymore." She held up a hand, forestalling comment. "You don't understand. She was fire and light and life itself. When she died, the sun went out. She had so much passion and she was so idealistic. You couldn't help but believe in her. She at least thought about the world and its problems rather than just being blinded by the status quo. And she had the courage to try and change the world." She smiled sadly at an old memory. "I was writing operas about her clear back in school."

"To change the world? To force her ideas on others, willing or no, using bloodshed and terror," Seteth snorted. "Her Radiance has been willing to let you go on your own way without any conditions whatsoever. I am not so magnanimous. I will not hear of you using the opera to disseminate pro-Adrestrian propaganda, or the opera company will be shut down- permanently- and you will be jailed for treason. Am I made clear?"

Dorothea once more proudly lifted her chin and faced him. "Quite," she answered, her voice frosty.

"What about the Slitherers?" Larishka put in quietly. "What about the demonic beasts and the experimentation on unknowing or flat-out unwilling subjects? How can you possibly justify that? What sort of horrors went on that we don't know about?"

"I don't need to justify anything to you!"

"But you have been, without our asking, telling me how someone who used such methods was 'light and life' and how I am 'blinded by the status quo'." Larishka let her arms drop onto the table. Dorothea stared at her silently. "Can you justify those things? Even to yourself?"

"There were things she didn't share with me," Dorothea said slowly. "Many things about the war. Hubert basically told me not to worry my pretty little head about them and that my job was to comfort Her Majesty and give her positive things to focus on." Her face reflected her annoyance and disgust at being so dismissed. "Most of that seemed to be the prerogative of Lord Arundel and Edie wasn't pleased with his actions. I got the impression that they were uneasy allies of convenience and each thought that they would 'attend to' the other once the church was destroyed."

"The church was destroyed. Rhea was under, by your account, Arundel's power. What more did she need?" Larishka asked in frustration. "Clearly it was never about the church but about the subjugation of Fodlan. For someone supposedly seeking to unify the people and dismantle the nobility, she seemed to be doing a piss-poor job of giving up any of her own personal noble privilege, or that of her friends, Your Highness. A meritocracy? Rising on your own skills? How then did you earn your crown?"

Dorothea shoved back her chair and stormed out of the room. Larishka dropped her head into her hands, massaging her temples and hiding her face. After a long awkward silence, Alois cleared his throat.

"Am I still escorting her back to Enbarr?" he asked, his honest face reflecting concern.

"Yes," Larishka answered, her voice muffled by her hands.

"And how many Knights am I taking with me?" he asked.

"I know she's not worried, but I am," Larishka said. After a couple of long moments, she said, "Two. Three of you and the two ladies themselves ought to be enough to handle most mundane threats. Any larger of a group would draw too much attention."

Alois and Seteth looked at each other over her head. Alois reached out and patted her shoulder, and the two men quietly left the Archbishop alone in the empty throne room.

* * *

Shahansha Khalid bin Yûsuf lounged on his white wyvern's back, his own back against Abráh's neck and thoroughly ensconced in his third re-reading of the crumpled letter in his hands.

_-I'm still not speaking to you for dumping the Professor, you know. At least Lysithea's wedding was beautiful. I still can't believe Marianne married that guy- it certainly wasn't a love match, but he's a nice enough guy, I guess, and they get along all right. At least he realizes that she's the one with the inheritance and basically leaves her alone to run her own estates in her own way. Also, you know, Marianne is gorgeous, so that probably helps her keep him under her thumb. Lysithea says political marriages where both parties get along usually work out just fine and sometimes turn into love matches in the end, so I should just hope for the best for her. Whatever. I'm keeping an eye on him so he better just watch out. I have tea with her a couple of times a week. It's so close that my wyvern is barely getting any exercise these days- have you ever seen a fat wyvern? Oh, but I love him so much I can't give up on spoiling him. Anyway, with the von Edmunds for my patrons, my school is doing very well. Ignatz dropped by for a visit and he was very impressed. I offered him a teaching job- I'm not really a painter and he could teach that- but he says he wants to travel more. Too bad. So many of us Deer so close together would have been wonderful. Oh, yeah, that's right- you don't know! Ignatz is no longer Lorenz and Lysithea's retainer- he told his parents that he was going to be an artist and follow his dreams and that was that. He has a really cute traveling companion, though- Raphael's sister! Can you believe it? But you'd know that if you had stayed here and married the Professor! Wow, this letter is getting really long. My brother says my letters aren't fair because it's like listening to me chatter, but you can't interrupt me or change the subject. Huh, that's a fair point- maybe all my talking should be by letter then! So there. The other day-_

Khalid smirked, folded the letter, and put it in his pocket. He had no idea how Hilda had managed to get it to him, but after long periods of silence over the last several months, he would suddenly hear from her. He suspected boredom- writing was a chore, after all, and she hated to put any effort into anything. It was good to hear everyone was doing well, however.

_Except for one critical detail. She'll chide me about Laika, but no actual news of how or what Laika is doing..._

His hand went to the amethyst ring that hung from a fine chain at his neck. He daydreamed about her- what she was doing right now, whether she was thinking about him, hoping she was wearing a too-large emerald ring right at that moment...

Abráh shifted restlessly and Khalid almost fell. "See if I come out to spend time with you when you treat me that way!" He scolded the wyvern in Almyran.

Abráh snorted his disdain and curled his neck to rest his head on his fore talons. Khalid slid off the rough, scaly back and reached up to scratch behind the wyvern's ears. Abráh crooned his pleasure and headbutted Khalid, then abruptly stood on his hind legs, screeching and flapping his wings.

The visitor, used to wyverns, stopped a respectful-but-not-fearful distance away and let Abráh finish his dominance display. Satisfied, Abráh returned to all fours and let the man approach without tearing his head off.

"Nader, my man!" Khalid hailed him. "I was just on my way to find you!"

"Yeah, I'm just certain you were, kiddo!" The scarred 'undefeated' champion called, but he grinned as he said it. "What's doin'?"

"Actually, I was coming to ask you that." Khalid walked over and stood next to him. "You just got back from visiting Holst, yeah? What's going on over in Fodlan?"

Some of the jollity slid off of Nader's face. "Well, that lovely young lady you put on the throne doesn't seem to be making too many mistakes. Apparently, she's reading every penal code she can get her hands on and is redrafting several portions of the law over there, and has that pretty-boy green-haired assistant of hers reviewing church doctrine. You can hear the screams from Enbarr to the Locket. Redistributing titles and lands, reviewing noble rights, that sort of thing. She's mighty low on governors right now, so there are some newly ennobled titles and a few mayoralities with noble rights. Merchants are happy, burghers and peasants are happy, the old nobles not so much. So much for the good news- she's supposedly looking kind of seedy and overworked these days. And those unhappy nobles are grumbling louder and louder. Also, rumors of disappearances, monsters, and weird magics. Sounds to me like you didn't nearly catch as many rats in the trap at Shambala as you maybe could have."

"Great," Khalid groaned.

"Why don't you go chase her around the bedroom a few times, wear her out, and put her down for a nap if you're so worried, and then take the Immortal Corps and knock some noble heads together?"

Khalid sputtered. "What do you- how did you- who told you?" he demanded.

Nader threw back his head and roared with laughter. "Boy, for someone who thinks he's so sneaky, you are terrible at keeping secrets! You told me, just now, with that reaction!"

Khalid growled. Abráh, startled by the sudden commotion and sensing his rider's change in mood, was a louder, more menacing echo as he began to growl too.

Nader stopped laughing and backed up as Khalid turned his attention to calming the large predator. When Abráh was soothed, Khalid easily mounted him bareback. His weaponsmaster/general looked up at him in surprise.

"Where're you going, kiddo? Don't tell me I ticked you off that bad!"

"Bad-LY," Khalid corrected and grinned. "Naw, I'm playing postal relay with my own letter. I'm going to give it to Hilda to send to Lorenz. He's key to my reintroduction to Fodlan."

"You're not planning on running off and abandoning Almyra, are you?" Nader asked with real concern. "All of that unification and peace out the window- it's only been a couple of months. All the warlords would just go back to fighting over who would become the 'shah of shahs'. I mean, me, of course, but I might have to work for it."

Khalid shook his head. "Of course I'm not running off and abandoning Almyra. I am trying to figure out how to make this work. For once, Nader, I am flat out of schemes and I'm going to have to work this out on the fly."

As Abráh took to the air, Khalid reflected on the irony- and the pun- implicit in that last statement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Over 50,000 words; this is officially novel length now!


	25. Chapter 25

Larishka walked down the hall from the Cardinals' chamber and began to light the oil lamps in her private office. A figure sat upright, startled awake, and then yawned deeply and let his head slump back onto her desk.

"Oh, Professor, it's only you," he yawned again.

Larishka set down her taper and looked at her visitor with some amusement, surprise, and vexation. "Linhardt, I'm sure we can find you more comfortable quarters somewhere in the monastery." She said.

"I'd hate for you to trouble yourself," he murmured.

"Yes, well, it's less of a bother than not being able to get to my desk because you're on it," she pointed out.

"I suppose that's true." Linhardt sat up and wiped his face on his sleeve. "Actually, I came here for a reason, Professor. Did you know your security is terrible? The gate guard recognized me from my school days and let me in without a challenge. Then I walked right up here and sat down to wait for you. Thank goodness I'm not an assassin. You have a lot of enemies, you know."

"I'm grateful for your concern about my well-being," Larishka said ironically.

"Oh, yes. It would be dreadful if the Adrestrian rebels and those terrible dark mages have their way. More killing, more war, more of those dreadful experiments." Linhardt shuddered and one of Larishka's red wax tokens fell out of his hair and back onto the desk from where it had come.

Larishka slowly pulled up a chair and sat opposite Linhardt in the chair he ought to have taken. "So you have something more concrete than the whispers and rumors I've been gathering?" She asked.

"Why, yes, Professor, that's why I'm here," he assurmed her. He leaned back in her chair and mused quietly for a moment. "Yes, I believe chronologically is the best way to start. It began just after your clever assault on Fort Merceus. Though neither Caspar nor I were unfortunate enough to cross blades with any of your personal officers, we were there. When it became obvious that we would lose, I dragged him away 'to report to Her Majesty'. He wanted to stay and fight but... I have the height advantage." For some reason, that made him smile briefly before he continued.

"Then those light spells hit the fortress and completely demolished it, as you remember," he shuddered, remembering himself. "When we could think again, he was so angry. He completely blamed your army and got angry when I pointed out that you had lost as many or more soldiers as we did in that blast. I went with him to Enbarr... well, I would have followed him anyway- but I had so many questions of my own.  
"When we arrived in Enbarr, Edelgard put on her blandest face and assured everyone that this was some terrible new weapon from the church. I asked why they hadn't attacked Enbarr then. She thought about that for a while, and then told us it was because you of all people wouldn't leave a dangerous fort on your flank to harass your rear and that she 'had something you wanted' in Enbarr that you wouldn't risk. That seemed reasonable enough, and I let it go for a while. But the questions kept nagging at me, and I realized that the light spell didn't go off until after you had control of the fortress- just like how Edelgard didn't torch the ballista mound until you were on it during the Battle of Gronder Field. It smelled like a trap to me- one set by our side."

"How did you know about Gronder Field?" Larishka interrupted. "You and Caspar weren't there."

"But Petra was," Linhardt answered with mild surprise. "A battle that important and Caspar wasn't deployed? He begged every possible detail and was furious that he wasn't there- which feeds directly into my story. Please, Professor, we won't get anywhere if you keep interrupting me like this."

Larishka leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms and legs.

"I talked about my ideas to Caspar. At first, he refused to consider it. Then he realized that if I was right and if I hadn't dragged him away, we would have been in that fortress and clearly whoever cast that spell- Hubert or one of her pet dark mages, I suspected- hadn't cared if he died there or not. And if Her Majesty had ordered the strike, she didn't care either." Linhardt slowly shook his head. "So I confronted Hubert. He refused to speak openly, but obliquely hinted that it was neither your army nor Her Majesty's who had originated that spell, but a third party. I started to keep my eye on those dark mages. One day I followed them to a hidden dungeon- and there was Lady Rhea, strapped to a wooden board suspended in the wall, covered in microcuts that dripped blood continuously into a collecting bowl under her feet. Beggers and criminals in various states of disease and starvation were chained in cages, some with nasty scars and half-healed wounds. Hubert caught me there and hurried me away. I was too sick to resist. I demanded to know why they hadn't just killed her. I will always remember his words: 'As long as she is alive, she is a renewable resource. Be grateful I am the one who found you- if it had been one of those Slitherers, you'd be chained in one of those cages drinking her blood and testing for any reactions between the Crest of Seiros and the Crest of Cethleann'." He stopped, his eyes wide and unfocused as if he still saw the horror of that dungeon. His face was white and his hands shook. He looked at once like the young student she had taught and like a man several years older than he appeared. Larishka silently waited for him to regain his composure. When he finally focused on her again, his lips split in a mirthless grin.

"Hubert sent me home to my family estates where I became, frankly, a common drunk and a nuisance. After a long time, Caspar came. I'd like to think that, because of what we were to one another, he would have come anyway, but the truth is that he had nowhere else to go. With the fall of Enbarr, he 'wouldn't stay in the capital and be made sport of by the Alliance', and his lands had burned in the aftermath of Gronder Field. He was furious that he wasn't deployed again during the defense of the capital anywhere he could be of use- I believe he was assigned to guard a supply depot- and saw it as a direct attack on his abilities by Her Majesty. I was no help, trying to convince him to just be glad it was all over and he and I could finally live together in peace.  
"At least he gave me something to focus on other than my own horror. Unfortunately, even holding a grudge against Her Majesty, he believed all of her propaganda about the church and, well, the Alliance did counter-invade our Empire and they were the winners of the battle that destroyed his lands. He ranted when you called all of the nobles here to have their lands assessed and titles reconfirmed about how he refused to 'go begging to a false queen with his hat in hand to regain what was rightfully his'. That was the last time I saw him lose his temper, and he was known for it.  
"A short time after that, he started hanging around some people I'd never seen in the village before- pale and strange-looking. He started to become more withdrawn, more grim and bitter. I asked him about his new friends and he told me that they felt the same way he did, about the church and about you. He said they were going to get revenge on behalf of everyone in the Empire. A couple of weeks later, he started asking about my crest. Then he said his friends wanted a sample of my blood. Naturally, I refused and, remembering that dungeon, went home and opened a bottle of whiskey. The next week, I woke up to find him standing over me with a knife and a glass vial. I ordered him and his friends off my estate."

"Do you think he was replaced, like Monica and Tomas?" Larishka asked intently.

Linhardt considered it for a long time. "No, actually," he answered finally. "But I think he had been angry for so long that he became easy prey for them to manipulate. He did leave right away and I think he was sorry for trying to hurt me, or maybe just upset we broke up. In any case, I recently got a letter from him saying he forgave me and that he was the new general of Adrestria's rebellion. He said after the church was gone for good, he'd come back and we would 'talk'." Linhardt paused. "I knew I had to come and warn you. That maybe I could have done more. I thought the war was finally over and I could have peace now," he finished plaintively.

Larishka was silent for several long moment, thinking. Linhardt's eyes were beginning to drop and his head to sink back to his chest before she spoke.

"I'm sorry for the rough time you have had- and I know those words don't even begin to cover it. And I am very grateful to you for bringing me this warning."

"I had hoped you would be," Linhardt admitted calmly. "In fact, I was hoping to ingratiate myself with you so that you would offer to let me stay here at the monastery in some capacity."

"Are you sure you want that?" Larishka asked. "You just told me you ex-boyfriend is coming and there will be more fighting."

Linhardt shrugged. "I know places both inside and out of the monastery where I can hide during the fighting. I'll be fine. I just want a place where I can continue my crest research in solitude. Is that too much to ask?"

"In this world, apparently," Larishka said wryly. "Linhardt, I will offer you the chance to stay here, but nothing in life is free. I expect you to work as Professor Hanneman's research assistant and, once the Academy is rebuilt and functioning, as a lecturer. I won't allow you to lounge about living off the church."

"You drive a hard bargain, Professor," Linhardt said, shaking his head. "Very well, I accept your terms, but I think you're being unreasonable about this."

He put his head back down on her desk and began to snore.


	26. Chapter 26

Khalid was decked out in full regalia as he paid his first diplomatic visit to Fodlan. He saw many of the commoners below him gaping and staring as he flew in wearing rich jewels and silks, with Abráh, showy white wyvern that he was, setting off his dyed leather and begemmed tack, scales freshly polished and his claws gilded (and what a fight that had been!). He resisted the urge to perform aerial stunts, but Abráh evidently decided that all of the pomp and circumstance was for him, and he flew with his head up and his neck stretched out, letting out the occasional excited roar.

He landed Abráh at the end of Derdriu's docks and Abráh sank to his knees in the wyvern version of a genuflection. The crowd spontaneously broke into applause and cheers.

Lorenz was already looking sour-faced.

Not to mention overly-warm in his favorite purple velvet unit.

Khalid dismounted as the other three members of his escort landed and Nader hurried to come and gather Abráh's reigns. Khalid waited until he was sure Abráh was going to behave, and then approached the raised public dais where Lorenz waited for him with Lysithea. Lysithea rolled her eyes at her former house-leader's showing off.

Khalid paused on the second-lowest step to make a formal Almyran bow. Lorenz returned the salutation with a formal Fodlanese bow. Khalid, still standing several steps below him, made a formal speech of greeting and extending friendship.

"You've made your point," Lorenz muttered. He made a point of inviting Khalid to take a seat across from him and fussed a bit settling Lystihea in. Once all of them were seated, it was Lorenz's turn to speechify, offering welcome and seconding all offers of friendship to the Almyran people.

_So far, so good..._

And then they got down to the brass tacks of haggling on the first treaty.

For all of his nobility, Lorenz bargained like a horse trader. They agreed rather quickly that Derdriu was a good starting point and that they should consider opening the port to Almyran ships. Then came the question of tariffs.

"Whatever you ed up charging Almyran traders on this end, I'm going to end up charging the Fodlanese on mine," Khalid pointed out. Lorenz allowed his eyebrow to arch upwards.

"Some of your people might get twitchy anyway," Lorenz pointed out in a low voice. "After all, you are a sovereign and I am a mere envoy. Some might say Her Radiance insults you by sending me rather than meeting with you herself."

"All in good time," Khalid responded. 

"She misses you, you know," Lysithea added softly. Khalid wrapped suddenly trembling hands around his tea cup.

"I think between the white wyvern and your familiarity with Fodlanese customs, eventually many people are going to figure out who you are," Lorenz shook his head.

"Almyrans are a very proud people," Khalid said. "A half-blooded king, they have marginally accepted. An Alliance marriage to a Fodlanese queen is going to take a lot of fast talking, especially since my heir would then be three-quarters Fodlanese. They will not accept a joint crown at all, hands down. If anything, I would have to betroth my child (preferably a daughter) to a full-blooded clan-leader's child at birth, and then adopt him as my heir. And if I give Larishka and Fodlan a son before I give Almyra a daughter and a clan alliance..." he let out a most common whistle from between his front teeth.

Many of the onlookers had wandered away in boredom, or came occasionally to gawk without bothering to listen to the actual words being said during the negotiations.

"Huh. Maybe we should draw up a marriage document first, with those terms and inheritances, since they're going to take the most negotiation, and then come back to the trade agreement," Lysithea suggested. "By the time we work that out to both the Professor and the Almyrans' benefit, everyone will just accept the trade treaty as common matter of course."

Khalid blinked. "You know I had no intention at all of discussing marriage during this summit, right? My personal life wasn't exactly meant to be on the table."

Lysithea and Lorenz wore almost identical smirks.

"Did Larishka put you up to this?" Khalid asked, bewildered.

"She doesn't even know you're here," Lysithea said. "We figured that we would take the treaty to her to be ratified once it was more or less done and there was nothing anyone could protest."

_As long as she isn't hurt that I came to the Gloucesters rather than her, then. I did say I had some things to do first..._

"Well, who are the ones scheming now?" he demanded. Lysithea grinned, but that accusation made Lorenz shift uncomfortably.

"Let us return to the topic at hand," he suggested. "Especially if we now have two documents to negotiate."

"I never agreed to that," Khalid protested.

"Do you have any obligation to preparing such a document?" Lorenz asked. As Khalid searched for a reasonable one, Lorenz smiled briefly. "I thought not. To business."

* * *

By the end of the week, they had both treaties hammered out and signed. After some thought, they had nixed the idea of a mutual defense treaty- it would benefit Almyra much more than it would the Fodlanese. Khalid and Nader were guests at a celebratory dinner, and the Fodlanese guests were staring at the nobles on the dais in abject fascination.

_They'll stop. The whole point of this is to 'normalize relations' so that Fodlanese and Almyrans interacting is no longer a side-show..._

Khalid was actually starting to relax and enjoy himself when a messenger rushed in, bent, and whispered in Lorenz's ear. Lorenz looked concerned at the news, then reapplied his calm social face and nodded once. The messenger bowed and left.

Khalid raised an eyebrow. Lorenz gave a minuscule shrug and mouthed "later" at him. Khalid frowned slightly. The shrug, innocent-looking enough, was meant to reassure him. Khalid was not reassured.

He slipped away as soon as he could and sat in Lorenz's library for a second time reading poetry. It felt like hours before Lorenz finally entered the room, his oh-so-noble brow creased with worry.

"Ah. I thought I would find you here," Lorenz noted.

"I didn't make myself hard to find," Khalid said, spreading his hands. "Mainly because I am a curious individual and I thought I detected a curiosity at supper."

Lorenz hesitated, then said, "I fear I will have to cut the concluding ceremonies short tomorrow. I need to mobilize my guard as quickly as possible."

"Mobilize? Who's attacking whom where?"

"Garreg Mach," Lorenz answered. Khalid froze. "Those so-called 'slitherers' have united enough angry, dispossessed Adrestrian nobles and army officers to make one last push against the church. Her Radiance has dispersed most of the Knights of Seiros on rebuilding and mercy missions. I am going to be racing the Adrestrian rebels every step of the way to make it on time."

Khalid leaped to his feet and threw open the balcony door. He put two fingers in his mouth and blew a shrill whistle. A roar answered him. Moments later, Abráh flew up. Khalid mounted bareback and turned his face towards Almyra.

He prayed he wouldn't be too late.

* * *

Once more, troops came spilling up the mountain switchback path. Goneril, Edmund, and Gloucester troops fought the Adrestrian rebels hand-to-hand in the village streets. More and more Adrestrian troops were breaking through to engage Jeralt's Mercenaries, still under their old name, gathered at the foot of the stairs. Even now, Larishka could see Caspar, his eyes lit with a maniacal thirst for vengeance, hacking his way towards her.

"This is it, isn't it Professor." Hilda said flatly. "We are all going to die here."

Larishka closed her eyes for a brief second. "Yes." She answered simply. She drew the Sword of the Creator and pointed with it directly at Caspar. "But I intend to make sure my death is dearly bought. Classic wedge formation, me at the point. Leonie and Felix, flank me. Next Hilda and Lorenz, with Lysithea and Marianne on the wings." She paused for a long moment. "Thank you. All of you."

She drew a deep breath. "Golde-"

A loud ululating cry interrupted her. Magnified in hundreds of throats, that hair-raising shriek nearly drowned out the roar of wyverns in battle lust.

"Look!" Hilda cried, pointing skyward. What looked to be a full legion of wyverns filled the air alongside giant war hawks. In the lead was a white wyvern whose rider pulled back the string of a glowing red bow.

The Ashen Demon mask split into a fierce, feral grin. Larishka raised the Sword of the Creator high and her voice reverberated across the chaos of the battlefield:

"Golden Deer- charge!"

* * *

Not many enemies survived to flee. Almost exactly halfway down the broad avenue, the white wyvern landed in the street. His brown-clad rider leaped from the saddle as a woman clad in blue-black leather armor ran down the center towards him. Khalid swept his Laika into his arms. Her hands tangled in his hair and pulled him down to kiss her.

Fodlanese and Almyran alike were finally united in the cheers that erupted from every throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, everyone


End file.
